Executive Editor JOEL KOTKIN on Urbanatomy

"To dedicated urbanites, thriving on the culture, street life and energy of the city’s downtown, suburbs can seem like a bland and boring alternative. Who would trade the intensity, hybridity and vibrancy of the core for the sterile sprawl of the periphery? Yet, as urban theorist Joel Kotkin points out, the reality of market forces and 'voting with your feet' provides stark evidence that suburbia is emerging as the predominant form of urbanism in the 21st century. “Since 1950, more than 90 per cent of metropolitan population growth in America has taken place in the suburbs,” he writes. “Today, roughly two out of three people in the nation's metro areas are suburban dwellers.” The future of the metropolis, it seems, lies in its suburbs. "

Joel on Urbanatomy