The End of the Suburbs Quotes

“Whether it’s because everything is so far apart or because it’s not possible for safety reasons or because it’s just not fun, suburban residents, relatively speaking, don’t really walk all that much. Studies using pedometers have found the average American takes a little over 5,100 steps a day, compared with 9,700 steps for Australians, 7,200 steps for the Japanese, and 9,650 for the Swiss.”
― Leigh Gallagher, The End of the Suburbs: Where the American Dream Is Moving

“A small apartment with interesting friends and a good Wi-Fi connection are today’s ’57 Chevy.”
― Leigh Gallagher, The End of the Suburbs: Where the American Dream Is Moving

“In 1969, roughly half of all children walked or biked to school, but today that figure is less than 15 percent.”
― Leigh Gallagher, The End of the Suburbs: Where the American Dream Is Moving

“Contrary to what she expected, kids didn’t really run around outside and play in the subdivision. Instead, everything was coordinated by scheduled activity and playdate, so every day she would spend the hours from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. shuttling her children to and from all the places they needed to be: swimming, chess, ballet, Hebrew school, jazz, soccer, music lessons, and more—what Roseman describes as “all the ridiculous things you sign them up for because they can’t just go outside and do something with their friends for three hours.”
― Leigh Gallagher, The End of the Suburbs: Where the American Dream Is Moving

“From 2000 to 2007 the United States developed close to four million acres of farmland, spending billions tilling it and filling it with fast, cheap tract houses for first-time buyers.”
― Leigh Gallagher, The End of the Suburbs: Where the American Dream Is Moving

“Back then, your parents would kick you out the door in the summer and they’d say, Okay, be back for dinner,” she says. “It was a different world.”
― Leigh Gallagher, The End of the Suburbs: Where the American Dream Is Moving