Smart Growth: Suburbia Revisited

Many of the nation’s suburbs that once were composed mostly of single-family homes are maturing into small cities. This process is especially evident in metropolitan areas that are extending rail connections from the central city to suburban towns, where these extensions have proved to be a catalyst for clustered development around station areas. Light-rail transit promises to improve accessibility dramatically, allowing suburban communities to plan for intensified land uses and a buildup of residential and mixed-use environments in their centers. This is happening in a variety of places, from the affluent, new-economy suburbs to inner-ring, middle-class locales with industrial bases. Editor's note: The full text of this article is only available to ULI members.

Thanks to Urban Land Magazine