suburbia

Back home for the weekend.

A new M&S foodhall has opened up alongside an ALDI and a Costa coffee store near my house. It’s situated on a giant parking lot that gives access to all three stores, plonked in the middle of an urban sprawl.

The net result?

The Costa coffee at 06.30am on a Sunday, is half full. Apparently, it’s always busy. Even just this morning, I saw atleast 3/4 cars drive through in the 5 minutes I went to pick up the only half decent cup of coffee I could find within walking distance.

It’s nice! Human settlements need centres, and that is doubly true for suburbia, which can feel like a village of strangers.

It only makes sense that the centre becomes a giant parking lot with the amenities clustered around it.

I remember listening to a Tyler Cowen podcast where his guest pushes back on the concept of urban sprawl. “It’s ugly”. “Everyone is in cars”. “You have to drive everywhere”. You don’t see people around.

My gut reaction on listening to that was agreeing with the guest. I am against urban sprawl.

Tyler’s reaction was much more sanguine - what’s the problem if people drive? It’s convenient. You have more space. Better living conditions. He had no problem living in the middle of nowhere America and driving around.

Sure you sacrifice walkable cities, but you gain something in return. That can be valuable depending on what you want.

I have a current aversion to suburbia in all honesty. I could not and do not want to live in urban sprawl, and much prefer the cloistered (expensive dubious quality) life in London. But that is from having the privilege of spending 20+ years growing up in stable suburbia.