Urban Living in Demand, While Sprawl Shows Signs of Decay

Chris Leinberger's recent article in the Atlantic Monthly discusses the decay of conventional suburbs and the change in the way Americans want to live and work. The article points to many reasons why urban living will soon become the status quo. Beyond the omnipresent issue of sustainability - demographics - are causing a major shift in housing choice. Americans today are having families later in life (then compared to baby boomers) and having less children - this means that about only a quarter of all households in 2025 will house families with children. Arthur C. Nelson, a speaker at CNUXVI in Austin, predicts that there will be a surplus of 22 million large lot homes by that time as well. Recent studies have also shown that a majority of suburbanites would be willing to give up (if they could afford it) driving and large homes to live in walkable, mixed-use communities.