Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
New Trend: Escaping the Suburbs
By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 1, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 1, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The Atlantic is asking if today's McMansions are tomorrow's tenements in an article titled The Next Slum. It seems suburban developments nationwide are seeing the same problems the city streets are: druggies, homeless, grafitti, gang activity, broken windows, stray bullets, and even in Pleasantville copper wire is a commodity.
Suburban decay is on the rise, making them a far cry from what they were presented as at the New York World’s Fair of 1939 and ’40. The Highways and Horizons (aka Futurama) exhibit was the fair's most popular, and for the past 60 years Americans have fled the city for the McMansions in the 'burbs. But times they are a changin', now The Atlantic reports "the pendulum is swinging back toward urban living, and there are many reasons to believe this swing will continue. As it does, many low-density suburbs and McMansion subdivisions, including some that are lovely and affluent today, may become what inner cities became in the 1960s and ’70s—slums characterized by poverty, crime, and decay."
The presentation of suburbia at the Worlds Fair was followed by GIs returning home and families decamping to the city outskirts. By 1981 the trend hit the big screen in Escape From New York, showing the world an abandoned Manhattan (which became a maximum security prison). But soon after, the shift began to reverse, and with shows like Seinfeld, Friends and even Sex and the City portraying a new New York, urban allure was back. Today television and movies use the suburbs to portray soullessness and moral disrepair.
If the shift that's taking place continues, "the world of tomorrow" falling apart could actually be a good thing. With Main Street, USA morphing into a walkable urban area -- the population and environment will benefit. The Atlantic states that "if New York City were its own state, it would be the most energy-efficient state in the union; most Manhattanites not only walk or take public transit to get around, they unintentionally share heat with their upstairs neighbors."
Tagged
As
city
crime
Escape From New York
main street
manhattan
mcmansions
new york
new york city
new york world
public transit
seinfeld
sex
suburbia
suburbs
the atlantic
the city
usa
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYPD searching for suspect after fatal stabbing in Queens
Officers responding to a call at the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and 173rd Street around 1 a.m. found 29-year-old Sulimon Ferrier, who had multiple stab wounds to his chest, police said.
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published Oct 3, 2026 at 4:38 p.m. ET
NYPD: 2 suspects in off-duty officer stabbing tried to rob victim
It’s unclear if the attackers knew the victim was NYPD.
By
Jill Webb
News
NYPD: 2 suspects in off-duty officer stabbing tried to rob victim
It’s unclear if the attackers knew the victim was NYPD.
By
Jill Webb
Astoria-born Chip City announces sudden closure days after former CEO sues
By
Catalina Gonella
US judge tosses Trump lawsuit targeting pro-Palestinian protesters in NJ
By
Willow Higgins
A big, bright Saturn will be the highlight of NYC's fall stargazing season
By
Rosemary Misdary
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .