Tag Archives: suburbs

5 days until Every Somewhere Sacred: caring for and learning from a suburban yard

Posted on by

The yard for my suburban house is 0.26 acres. On all four sides, the house is surrounded by grass, bushes and trees, and wildlife. This is part of the American Dream: a suburban single-family home for a family framed by green grass and attractive landscaping. All that nature in the yard allows space for kids to play in a private setting free from threats. Or perhaps it is about keeping the lawn extra green and finely trimmed and completely free of weeds and leaves so that the nature around the home leads to a higher return on investment.

Photo by princess on Pexels.com

What could it look like for Christians to expand their imagination about the nature around them rather than defaulting to American land stories and half-truths? In Every Somewhere Sacred, Ben Norquist and I consider better ways to engage with God’s plans for land and places.

What might that mean for my yard? It is certainly not “wild” land. Humans have been in this area for a long time, including Indigenous people and white settlers starting in the 1830s. This particular plot of land was farmed for decades before a developer started putting up houses in the early 1970s. As they put up houses, they shaped other features of the land, putting in a pond that some of the homes back up to, leaving numerous older trees along the main road through the neighborhood, and situating other homes to back up to a public park.

The land is not there just to serve my financial interests or the specific needs of my household. My yard is connected to other yards and it part of a broader ecosystem. Some animals and plants thrive in suburban settings. Others do not. I regularly see rabbits and have occasionally spotted foxes. Chickadees, robins, cardinals, red-tailed hawks, cormorants, and Canadian geese can be seen and heard. Insects are around. We have a small, simple garden that requires weeding and watering. I do not fertilize my yard or use weed killer. We occasionally trim the bushes and trees.

I want the nature around me to flourish. I am created, nature is created. My yard presents a small opportunity for me to learn from and with Creation about God and the world. We can tend, cultivate, plant, tear up when needed. We can work with nature rather than just extracting value from it.

In our book, we describe four different lenses different Christians have developed to help us better understand the physical world around us: land as gift, sacrament, kin, and home. If I took time with each of these and applied them to my own yard, what could I see differently? As I retrieve a basketball from the rose bushes next to the driveway planted by previous occupants of our home or when I drag the hose to the backyard to water our garden or when I put down mulch in the flower beds or when I hear a woodpecker in a nearby tall tree, how might I better see God and the world?

The Chicago Bears, like numerous pro sports teams, on their way to being a suburban team

Posted on by

As the Chicago Bears plan for a new stadium, it appears one fact is clear: they will end up playing in the suburbs of the city of Chicago. While the current battle for the stadium may appear to be between Illinois and Indiana, the team ends up in the suburbs of the Chicago region either way. And they would not be alone in inhabiting a suburban stadium: twelve NFL teams already play in the suburbs. (For comparison, several MLB teams play in the suburbs, three NHL teams play in the suburbs, and only one NBA team plays in the suburbs.)

Photo by Willian Justen de Vasconcellos on Pexels.com

But you could argue that the Chicago Bears were already a suburban team even though they played in the city at Wrigley Field and then Soldier Field. The team has had its headquarters in suburban Lake Forest for decades. The McCaskey family lives in the Chicago suburbs, with Virginia McCaskey passing away in 2025 after residing in Des Plaines for decades.

And many of the team’s fans are suburbanites. The city of Chicago peaked in population in the 1950 census with over 3.6 million residents. As the city’s population declined, the metropolitan region continued to grow. In the 2020 census, the metropolitan statistical area had over 9.6 million residents, meaning that over two-thirds of the region’s population was in the suburbs. Who is tuning in to the games? Who is buying tickets and merchandise? Who is weighing in with their opinions about where the Bears should play? (And this is true across American metropolitan regions: stadiums may be in big cities but the majority of residents and fans are in the suburbs.)

The Chicago Bears will likely be playing in the suburbs soon enough. This will echo what has already happened numerous times over in the region: residents and businesses moved out of the city to the suburbs, setting up life or operations where the majority of residents live.

Trying to convince suburbanites that they should accept mid-size housing in their single-family home neighborhoods

Posted on by

After the Illinois legislature did not pass the governor’s housing plans, one housing leader said he had this goal:

Photo by Curtis Adams on Pexels.com

Moving forward, Wolfenstein said he’s looking to draw a clearer picture for lawmakers of what midsize housing could look like in their communities — two-flats, townhomes, and other structures that could resemble single-family homes, he said.

When people in the American suburbs purchase a single-family home, they are used to having that home surrounded by other single-family homes. There might be townhomes or condos or apartments nearby but zoning in the United States typically separates different kinds of housing from each other. It is not common to find a suburban family-house next to a two-flat which is next to a townhouse.

How would suburbanites respond to midsize housing in their neighborhoods? They would likely talk about threats to property values. They might mention how it affects the character of their community. They could describe how they moved to their home because they liked the neighborhood as it was. These are common responses to potential changes in or near neighborhoods of single-family homes.

I also wonder how much the responses of suburbanites would be guided by their perceptions of who might live in midsize housing.

So could the midsize housing be designed in such a way that it does not look different than the single-family housing? Would it be at certain price points such that current residents do not feel threatened? It would be interesting to see the proposals and then get a sense of how many suburban residents and leaders would want to get behind such a vision.

Switching the Spelling Bee from a suburban convention center to a downtown theater

Posted on by

A change this year to the location of the Scripps National Spelling Bee caused some concern:

Photo by Ann H on Pexels.com

The bee’s move from a suburban convention center to Constitution Hall was a point of contention for spellers and their families because of inconveniences it caused. But Thursday’s finals had a lively atmosphere, with more intimate seating and better sight lines bringing the crowd closer to the action, and the broadcast got a reboot with ESPN’s Mina Kimes hosting alongside longtime analyst Paul Loeffler.

A bit more on the history of the location of the spelling bee:

At the prior venue, the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, spellers moved freely throughout the building, roaming between their hotel rooms, the ballroom that housed the competition stage and a massive food court where they grabbed quick meals between last-minute study sessions…

The bee began in 1925 and was held at a series of Washington hotels before it moved to the suburbs in 2011.

Having been to a number of convention centers, I could see why some might have preferred an option where everything was in one place. Convention centers can be sprawling structures that are intended to help visitors keep their focus on the convention.

But I was intrigued to see that the shift this year was from a suburban convention center to a downtown theater. The DAR Constitution Hall opened in 1929 and is near numerous important Washington, D.C. buildings. Suburban convention centers might have more space for their structures and could offer easier driving access. Additionally, a majority of Americans live in suburbs and might be more familiar with suburban settings. (Sounds like a research question: do Spelling Bee contestants tend to come from urban, suburban, or rural settings? Are there patterns in the locations where they live?)

How about a compromise: holding the Spelling Bee at an urban convention center? These exist as well.

The suburban Illinois lawmakers and leaders for and against the BUILD plan

Posted on by

With the BUILD plan under consideration in Illinois, some suburban leaders have announced they are for or against what the bill would provide for:

Photo by Clay Elliot on Pexels.com

Democratic state Sen. Laura Ellman of Naperville is among the plan’s proponents. Ellman and other lawmakers staged a news conference Tuesday in Springfield to outline a slew of proposals aimed at making housing more affordable for owners and renters…

Other suburban sponsors and cosponsors of BUILD-related legislation include state Sens. Mark Walker of Arlington Heights, Adriane Johnson of Buffalo Grove and Cristina Castro of Elgin.

Aligned against them are lawmakers including Republican state Rep. Martin McLaughlin of Barrington Hills; municipal leaders in South Barrington, Barrington Hills, Algonquin and other suburbs; and groups including the Illinois State Association of Counties, the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference and the Northwest Municipal Conference.

At a city council meeting earlier this month, Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli said the BUILD proposals promote housing density, not affordability…

McLaughlin hopes pressure from municipal leaders opposed to BUILD will be strong enough to persuade enough Democrats in the General Assembly to break with Pritzker and oppose the legislation.

Illinois has a lot of suburban residents (as does the United States as a whole). I would interested to hear from suburban lawmakers what they are hearing from these residents and voters. How many are for these proposed changes, how many are against? If people think their property values might be threatened, they tend to respond. At the same time, those seeking out housing might also be making their voices heard.

On a related note, if suburban voters are critical in national elections because of the number of them plus the number of suburbanites who might be swayed by particular issues or leaders, might legislative votes in Illinois come down to suburban representatives?

It would also be interesting to hear if there local leaders and communities who see such legislation as providing an opportunity for growth and change in their community. The population in the Chicago region and Illinois has been relatively stagnant in recent decades. Could adding more housing provide a new opportunity to add residents and status?

Billy Joel and “The Great Suburban Showdown”

Posted on by

I have not listened to an early Billy Joel album for a long time. In my quest to find more music that explicitly references suburbs, I recently ran into his song “The Great Suburban Showdown,” track number three on his 1974 album Streetlife Serenade. The character in the song is headed home for a visit and this is the chorus:

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I’ve been gone for a while
Made some changes in my style
And they say you can’t go home anymore
When the streets all look the same
And I’ll have to play the game
We’ll all sit around in the kitchen chairs
With the tv on, with the neighbors there

The song describes several common images of American suburbs:

  1. Family life in suburbia. Home is where mom and dad are. There are barbeques, neighbors.
  2. Things look the same and the suburbs have not changed.
  3. In contrast to #1 and #2, the main character is now living somewhere else. He has made changes to his life while the suburban life still looks and feels the same. Suburban life is dull and predictable but not other kinds of places are not like this.

The song refers to a “suburban showdown” where all this will come into conflict. Joel himself grew up in suburban Long Island; could he be referring in this song to his own experiences?

Visiting the many farmers markets in the Chicago suburbs

Posted on by

As the weather warms up, residents of the Chicago suburbs can visit many farmers markets. This list shows 54 options held across the week and across the region.

Photo by Erik Scheel on Pexels.com

From my study of suburban communities and their character, here is what I would want to know about all these farmers markets: what makes them unique from each other? Are there features that connect them to the suburb in which they are being held? Here are a few factors that could influence this:

  1. The setting in which they are held. Is the market in a parking lot? A special space constructed for this? Near historic buildings? The setting could help set the tone and indicate the importance of the market.
  2. Are the goods sold significantly different across markets? Do some markets specialize in certain items compared to others? How much do the vendors differ across markets?
  3. Who is the intended customer? This could be tied to the goods sold and the setting as well as other things offered at the market. Do some try to attract kids? Which ones are dog friendly? How do the markets approach customers with different levels of resources?
  4. How does the farmer’s market fit in with the other events in the suburban community? Is the market the one regular event or is there a full calendar of options for residents and visitors to choose from?
  5. Who comes to the farmers market? Are these primarily for residents or do these draw more widely from neighboring suburbs?

This could be a research project with dozens of markets to visit and examine.

Explaining suburbia to suburbanites

Posted on by

Given that I study suburbs, I have had numerous opportunities to discuss suburban lifestyles, communities, and history with a range of people: family, friends, college students, colleagues, people at church, and more. Reflecting back on these experiences, I have seen some patterns:

Photo by Jacoby Clarke on Pexels.com

-Perhaps not surprisingly, suburbanites can have a hard time seeing some of the patterns that are present. The suburbs are what they are used to. This is just how life is lived. More broadly, more than half of Americans live in suburban settings and now multiple generations have been suburban dwellers. The suburbs are both a long-term aspirational place for many Americans and it is what is familiar to many.

-Drawing contrasts between other kinds of places can be helpful to point out what is going on in suburbia. This might be asking about other places people have lived, whether actual small towns or rural areas (not smaller suburbs), big cities (places that are centers of metropolitan regions and not just big suburbs), or international contexts. This could be through highlighting how Americans often think about certain places, such as perceptions often held of big cities or wild or natural areas.

-Having conversations about broad patterns in suburbs often leads to considering the intersection of those with individual experiences in suburbs. People like talking about their own experiences and how their lives have gone in suburbs or particular suburban communities. There are a variety of suburban settings – what I would call different types of suburban communities, including bedroom suburbs, edge cities, working-class suburbs, and more – and suburban communities have particular characters and histories. Americans often take an individualistic approach to life and so talking about commonalities across suburbs and their history can conflict at times with how people understand their own experiences. (This is the argument Mills makes regarding the sociological imagination: seeing how our individual experiences are shaped by social forces.)

-A concern that analysis is necessarily critique. Research on suburbs can often carry this along: we need to understand suburbs so that we can see their flaws and point systems and people in other directions. But understanding the suburban context does not have to lead to admonition. Can suburbanites articulate what they do like about suburban communities and what they don’t? Are people willing to discuss the trade-offs that come with any choice about where to live? If places and zip code do shape many of our life chances, can we consider that?

The fate of suburban voters in states that have now redistricted

Posted on by

Elections in the United States are often decided by suburban voters. As voters in cities and suburbs closer to big cities tend to vote for Democrats and voters in rural areas and outer suburbs tend to vote for Republicans, the middle suburbanites are ones both parties want to capture. Where are those voters ending up in new congressional districts a number of states have mapped?

Two examples are worth looking at: first Virginia and then Texas.

And the old and new map in Texas:

These maps shows some of the ways to neutralize voters the party in power does not want to get seats. This can take the form of long and skinny districts that go from near a big city and out into the countryside. Vary where this district starts and ends or the width of the district and those key suburban voters can be pulled in a direction that party wants.

This is often a shift away from more square or rectangular shapes that might cover geographies that are similar to each other: voters in big cities in a district with largely similar voters, suburbanites matched with suburbanites, and small towns and rural areas together.

How might this change the influence of the voters in middle suburbia? The 2026 mid-terms could offer some hints and I am sure there will be a lot of analysis ahead of the 2028 elections.

New Jersey home prices rise more than other states

Posted on by

Housing values keep going up in New Jersey:

Photo by Garrison Gao on Pexels.com

Home prices across the New Jersey climbed nearly 6% in February compared to a year earlier, the sharpest gain of any state in the nation, according to figures released this week by Cotality, a property data firm. 

The national average over that same stretch is only half a percent. The Garden State did not just beat the field. It lapped it. 

Why the bigger rise in New Jersey?

The state’s dense corridor of finance and fintech firms, pharmaceutical giants and biotech campuses has kept demand humming even as buyers elsewhere pump the brakes. 

Cotality analysts specifically flagged New Jersey’s high-wage employment base as a structural driver of housing demand, one that insulates the market from the volatility hitting Sun Belt states hard right now. 

I might put it another way as someone who studies suburbs: the state is positioned between two major metropolitan areas, New York City and Philadelphia. This both provides access to jobs and opportunities there but includes its own large collection of suburban jobs and opportunities across numerous communities that have different industries and populations. The fate of these suburban possibilities are tied to what happens in these big cities but it also has some life of its own.

Also worth noting: with these housing pressures, New Jersey is home to a number of affordable housing conversations and decisions over the years.