Suburbs like St. Albert have gotten a bad rap in recent years. Urban planners who advocate for “smart growth” and smaller, more walkable communities claim that suburbs are unsustainable, inefficient and wasteful, encouraging the polluting use of cars and rolling over prime farmland. Books, movies and music all describe suburbs as stifling, conformist and boring, or even holding dark secrets behind outwardly normal facades. It’s a pity that no one ever seems to consider the positive aspects of suburbia.
Many people who live in urban centres love the culture and energy of their neighbourhoods. There’s almost always something going on down there, and a lot of these residents consider suburbs boring. However, one person’s boredom is another person’s peace and quiet. Not everyone enjoys a vibrant nightlife, or wants to be in a noisy downtown community with traffic at all hours. I find walking through my suburban neighbourhoods to be very relaxing, particularly when there aren’t many people around and I can be alone with my thoughts.
That privacy is something I highly value about the suburbs. In urban centres, residents are often crammed together in small apartments or narrow houses. People are in close contact with their neighbours all the time. Some people might not mind this, but I would find it incredibly suffocating. In the suburbs, there’s more distance between houses and residents can enjoy more personal space. A backyard can be more of a sanctuary for when people need to be alone, or just want to hang out with close family and friends in a private gathering.
Not to mention that suburbs are not without beauty of their own. St. Albert is blessed with green parkland and trees on many of its boulevards and meridians, and many homeowners put a lot of effort into cultivating their yards. It makes for a very pleasant sight when going for a walk.
As for the idea that suburbs are rigidly conformist, or that suburban dwellers are hiding all manner of dark secrets, I find that to be absurdly silly. The vast majority of suburban dwellers I’ve known are exactly what they appear to be – friendly, hardworking people who really aren’t that much different from their urban or rural counterparts. Nor are they necessarily conformist, either – the opinions of the suburbanites I’ve known are just as varied and diverse as anyone else’s.
When it comes to the criticisms of suburbs being built on farmland, while this is an issue there are other, arguably larger factors at work here. Many new industrial projects are being built out in the rural counties, such as the new bitumen upgraders. People who set up acreages often also build suburban-style homes. Surely at least some of these homes and businesses are being built on prime farmland as well. Why, then, are suburbs singled out for criticism?
It’s true that suburbs encourage the use of cars, but arguably so too does Canada as a whole. In a country as huge as ours, people have to travel long distances even within most of our provinces. Public transit and rail lines don’t reach all of our communities, and not everyone can afford to fly. By default, the car is how most Canadians have to travel when they want to visit another part of their province or country.
Cramming everyone into compact, “walkable” urban communities simply isn’t realistic. Even if it were possible, people like me would probably find such communities stifling and cramped. Far better is to have a variety of options, like we do now. The suburbs aren’t for everyone, but neither are downtown urban centres or rural acreages.
Besides, isn’t variety supposed to be the spice of life?
Jared Milne is a St. Albert resident with a passion for Canadian history and politics.
