Suburbs and Cities

            In this course, which focuses on the urban and suburban, it is without question that we have spent more time discussing the former rather than the latter, and this is for good reason. There does not need to be extensive field trips or anything like that that since most of us are native to the suburbs, or at the very least have a firm grasp of what the suburbs are like given our enrollment at this small liberal arts college in Naperville of all places. My reason for calling attention to this lies in my interest in how the suburbs relate to the city in the context of the writings and sociological theory we have discussed in this class.

            In several sociology classes I have taken, much has been discussed about the city from a theoretical and empirical mindset, but not nearly as much has been said about the suburbs. Part of this, undoubtedly, has to do with the vast majority of "classic" sociological theorists writing their works in a time long before the suburb would be what it is today. In much of these works, the authors are typically writing from the perspective that the city is a negative deviation from the mechanical solidarity found in a more rural setting, and as a class I believe we agreed with such theorists, but only to an extent.

            Assuming this is true, what does this say about the suburbs? I believe most would consider the suburbs to have much more in common with the city than a rural area, yet it seems that the suburbs are vastly different from both still. I wouldn't say that the suburbs have an organic solidarity system set in place, as people can just as easily go about their life working their job and being with their family, without much other interaction at all. There is no bartering or actual need for individuals to communicate and know one another, but there is, however, an expectation for one to do so.

            I believe that it can be argued that this expectation of social interaction and friendliness is the main difference in social functionality at the level of "homelife." The suburbs are a place where potentially exciting people go to die and become boring, one job promotion and pregnancy at a time, and it is because of these circumstances guiding their being in such a place, that psychologically drives individuals to become acquainted to one another. It can be argued that it is this expectation of friendliness and/or the fact that people raising families in suburban homes are probably more likely to live in their homes longer, and consequently seek out companionship. While, I understand this is just a terse scratching of the surface for a topic so vast, I felt the need to throw in my two cents.