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| What if suburbia was actually quite cool? What if many of the things we thought we hated about it turned out to be wrong? We probably still wouldn’t believe it, would we? Just like many couldn't believe Lonely Planet's announcement last week that Brisbane was Australia’s coolest city. | What if suburbia was actually quite cool? What if many of the things we thought we hated about it turned out to be wrong? We probably still wouldn’t believe it, would we? Just like many couldn't believe Lonely Planet's announcement last week that Brisbane was Australia’s coolest city. |
| Location is more than geography, it represents character and personality. The inner city knows it is cool precisely because it is so unlike the suburbs – it’s a studied rebellion that requires suburbia to be part of a giant system of conformity from which you have escaped. Pamela Stubbart, who grew up in US suburbia, wrote on her blog that “in the suburbs, you can have a nice life consuming things with the people you already know. In the city, you can have an exciting life, creating things with the people you don’t already know”. This is a commonly held prejudice against the suburbs, not unlike Australian columnist Elizabeth Farrelly’s notorious quote: “The suburbs are about boredom, and obviously some people like being bored and plain and predictable, I'm happy for them … even if their suburbs are destroying the world.” | Location is more than geography, it represents character and personality. The inner city knows it is cool precisely because it is so unlike the suburbs – it’s a studied rebellion that requires suburbia to be part of a giant system of conformity from which you have escaped. Pamela Stubbart, who grew up in US suburbia, wrote on her blog that “in the suburbs, you can have a nice life consuming things with the people you already know. In the city, you can have an exciting life, creating things with the people you don’t already know”. This is a commonly held prejudice against the suburbs, not unlike Australian columnist Elizabeth Farrelly’s notorious quote: “The suburbs are about boredom, and obviously some people like being bored and plain and predictable, I'm happy for them … even if their suburbs are destroying the world.” |
| According to academic Rupa Huq, the fear that suburbia might be an unstoppable hungry sprawl disrupting the natural order has been traditionally pushed by the right. And you will note from both quotes that this fear is generally disguised as an environmental or planning concern – a strategy readily observed by Paul Barker in his book The Freedoms of Suburbia. | According to academic Rupa Huq, the fear that suburbia might be an unstoppable hungry sprawl disrupting the natural order has been traditionally pushed by the right. And you will note from both quotes that this fear is generally disguised as an environmental or planning concern – a strategy readily observed by Paul Barker in his book The Freedoms of Suburbia. |
| But what are the greedy masses of suburbia using to pay for all their consumption? Surely they must be creating some things of their own in order to fund consumption. And what of the creative types in the inner-city, who Stubbart and Farrelly identify with? Are they not doing some consuming also? In fact, some studies suggest the inner city, with its increasing affluence, is little better in terms of resource use than the lower density suburbs. Criticising urban development makes little sense if your criticism of people’s choices does not address the context that limits choice, and the ways in which we are connected. In terms of sustainability, we’re all part of the problem. | But what are the greedy masses of suburbia using to pay for all their consumption? Surely they must be creating some things of their own in order to fund consumption. And what of the creative types in the inner-city, who Stubbart and Farrelly identify with? Are they not doing some consuming also? In fact, some studies suggest the inner city, with its increasing affluence, is little better in terms of resource use than the lower density suburbs. Criticising urban development makes little sense if your criticism of people’s choices does not address the context that limits choice, and the ways in which we are connected. In terms of sustainability, we’re all part of the problem. |
| Stubbart is writing about New York, by the way, a place where average apartment rent is now three times the national average in the US and where homelessness is exploding to record levels in spite of national trends being in decline. This challenges another aspect of suburban dread. The right’s snobbery towards suburbia is matched by that of the left, who once worried suburbia was a way to remove yourself from working class and immigrant populations and who now fret that it is a breeding ground for racism and political apathy. | Stubbart is writing about New York, by the way, a place where average apartment rent is now three times the national average in the US and where homelessness is exploding to record levels in spite of national trends being in decline. This challenges another aspect of suburban dread. The right’s snobbery towards suburbia is matched by that of the left, who once worried suburbia was a way to remove yourself from working class and immigrant populations and who now fret that it is a breeding ground for racism and political apathy. |
| As academic Graeme Davison described, suburbia came about through a combination of evangelicalism, sanitarianism, romanticism and class segregation. And with the collapse of old forms of political engagement, obsessively wondering about and misunderstanding the views of those in the suburbs has become a preoccupation for the political class. But far from being a xenophobic monoculture, Australian suburbia is increasingly home to immigrant populations and a more diverse mix of incomes and occupations than can be found in the inner city. Stubbart believes she is exposed to a carnival of people from all walks of life in New York, but like other big cities facing housing affordability crises, what she may increasingly find are people exactly like her. | As academic Graeme Davison described, suburbia came about through a combination of evangelicalism, sanitarianism, romanticism and class segregation. And with the collapse of old forms of political engagement, obsessively wondering about and misunderstanding the views of those in the suburbs has become a preoccupation for the political class. But far from being a xenophobic monoculture, Australian suburbia is increasingly home to immigrant populations and a more diverse mix of incomes and occupations than can be found in the inner city. Stubbart believes she is exposed to a carnival of people from all walks of life in New York, but like other big cities facing housing affordability crises, what she may increasingly find are people exactly like her. |
| For the inner city, the suburbs still symbolise isolation and a stupifying level of social convention; they are places to imprison women in their own homes and keep social change at bay. But 90% of city-dwelling Australians live in suburbia, and it is therefore unlikely these places have not contributed their share of radicalism and feminist progress. Indeed, community-based activism like Landcare and the Australian Breastfeeding Association have been more active in suburbia than anywhere else. | For the inner city, the suburbs still symbolise isolation and a stupifying level of social convention; they are places to imprison women in their own homes and keep social change at bay. But 90% of city-dwelling Australians live in suburbia, and it is therefore unlikely these places have not contributed their share of radicalism and feminist progress. Indeed, community-based activism like Landcare and the Australian Breastfeeding Association have been more active in suburbia than anywhere else. |
| And yet, popular culture depictions of Australia continue to accentuate an image of the suburban environment as bordering on sociopathic, such is the imagined failure of community in these environments. Either that, or the suburbs are seen as a tasteless mass devoid of critical thought - entirely unaware of the irony in kitsch. Think Idiot Box, Lantana, The Boys, Animal Kingdom, Little Fish, Kath and Kim and Muriel’s Wedding. Even The Castle, which argues that we should care more about the interests of the outer suburbs, depicts these places as insular. | And yet, popular culture depictions of Australia continue to accentuate an image of the suburban environment as bordering on sociopathic, such is the imagined failure of community in these environments. Either that, or the suburbs are seen as a tasteless mass devoid of critical thought - entirely unaware of the irony in kitsch. Think Idiot Box, Lantana, The Boys, Animal Kingdom, Little Fish, Kath and Kim and Muriel’s Wedding. Even The Castle, which argues that we should care more about the interests of the outer suburbs, depicts these places as insular. |
| Given these depictions, you would think life in the suburbs was a misery – but as much as anything, film and TV production probably points to a kind of cultural conservatism in mainstream media and a general tone of classism. Inner city streets are charmingly frenetic and layered, but there is no less character in suburban streets. The explosion of interest in garden design here can suggest competitiveness and materialism in Australia, but viewed through another lens it implies a flourishing of individuality and creativity. Every house makes its own statement. Some yards are scattered with broken toys and outdoor furniture, others with shady trees and BBQs. There are wheelie bins and driveways decorated with children’s paintings, hedges, flowers and rock walls mark the perimeters, and the houses echo more affordable versions of architectural trends across the eras. And then there is the once a year joyful anarchy of Christmas light displays. | Given these depictions, you would think life in the suburbs was a misery – but as much as anything, film and TV production probably points to a kind of cultural conservatism in mainstream media and a general tone of classism. Inner city streets are charmingly frenetic and layered, but there is no less character in suburban streets. The explosion of interest in garden design here can suggest competitiveness and materialism in Australia, but viewed through another lens it implies a flourishing of individuality and creativity. Every house makes its own statement. Some yards are scattered with broken toys and outdoor furniture, others with shady trees and BBQs. There are wheelie bins and driveways decorated with children’s paintings, hedges, flowers and rock walls mark the perimeters, and the houses echo more affordable versions of architectural trends across the eras. And then there is the once a year joyful anarchy of Christmas light displays. |
| Upon becoming parents, many of us creative types with finite incomes have spilled out of the inner city into suburbia only to find these places more eccentric and kind-hearted than we imagined. Admittedly we took some of our cosmopolitan Bohemia with us and so, for instance, my own suburb of elderly residents and public housing tenants is patiently integrating yarn bombing into its knitting circle, vertical gardens into its delicatessen, beef jerky into its coffee shop and bearded young men into its historical society. But this is the point of suburbia: it is not static, it has always been in transition. | Upon becoming parents, many of us creative types with finite incomes have spilled out of the inner city into suburbia only to find these places more eccentric and kind-hearted than we imagined. Admittedly we took some of our cosmopolitan Bohemia with us and so, for instance, my own suburb of elderly residents and public housing tenants is patiently integrating yarn bombing into its knitting circle, vertical gardens into its delicatessen, beef jerky into its coffee shop and bearded young men into its historical society. But this is the point of suburbia: it is not static, it has always been in transition. |
| I recently learned that though I keep to myself, my quiet little street had observed my relationship ending and had taken to referring to me as “the single parent”. I winced. This was what I worried about most in moving to suburbia – gossip. But I was mistaken. The news prompted neighbours to introduce themselves to me specifically to inform me that they are available should I need anything. And an elderly neighbor who I thought was nosy turned out to be simply inspired by my efforts at growing a kitchen garden; he has returned to growing fruit and vegetables in his garden for the first time in about 30 years. | I recently learned that though I keep to myself, my quiet little street had observed my relationship ending and had taken to referring to me as “the single parent”. I winced. This was what I worried about most in moving to suburbia – gossip. But I was mistaken. The news prompted neighbours to introduce themselves to me specifically to inform me that they are available should I need anything. And an elderly neighbor who I thought was nosy turned out to be simply inspired by my efforts at growing a kitchen garden; he has returned to growing fruit and vegetables in his garden for the first time in about 30 years. |
| Yes, the suburbs are where your home is your castle, as Robert Menzies described it “to which we can withdraw, in which we can be among friends, into which no stranger may come against our will”, and it can encourage a certain distance among us. Of course, there are many things I miss about the inner city – but there’s something pleasant about this shared commitment to boundaries. Being a writer, I have found I quite like the space and mental calm of the suburbs. | Yes, the suburbs are where your home is your castle, as Robert Menzies described it “to which we can withdraw, in which we can be among friends, into which no stranger may come against our will”, and it can encourage a certain distance among us. Of course, there are many things I miss about the inner city – but there’s something pleasant about this shared commitment to boundaries. Being a writer, I have found I quite like the space and mental calm of the suburbs. |
| London invented suburbia when it became the first European city to dare to build outside the fortress of city walls. And today in Australia, suburbia continues to provide the opportunity, for those who dare and those who can’t afford otherwise, to live outside the city walls of inner city cool. | |
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