The Suburbs

In spite of more Americans now being suburbanites than city residents, there is very little written on suburbs. In terms of overall analysis (rather than single case studies) there are only a handful of urban histories of nineteenth century suburbs, and most of those were written over a decade ago. John Palen's new text, The Suburbs,, revolutionizes and facilitates the discussion of modern suburbs. It is the most up-to-date, comprehensive overview available of contemporary suburbia and its history. It contains data through the 1990 Census, and is also the only volume to detail and discuss the dramatic increases in African-American, Asian, and Hispanic suburbanization. Additionally, The Suburbs,, tackles such topics as the myths regarding women and families in the suburbs, the malling of America, and planned utopian communities.