You mean people aren't crazy for living there?...

I have been learning new things about what we label as sprawl. First, the eye-opening eponymous book by Chicago researcher Richard Bruegmann who pointed out that almost all development occurs because more people want houses - hardly a bad thing. The second point which hit home is that sprawl is cited as a problem by people who have got their house and space already - not those living in 800 sq.ft. apartments.


Now a new study from California researchers adds some interesting perspective on the social qualities of suburbs. Brian Doherty at Reason adds a cogent opinion.

It turns out that people don't necessarily become less neighborly as they move for more room. In fact, it may be just the opposite. It has always been hard for me to figure out why people keep wanting to live in suburbs if they are as bad as critics say.