assomeet

Message from: Edward S. B
About: suburb

Tue, 21 Oct 1997 07:27:57 -0400

It is interesting to see that the French word banlieue has opposite
connotations of the American suburb. While both see the suburbs as no
greater than middle-class, the French version is akin to the American
inner-city, with connotations of 'ghetto' and 'rap' and 'delinquance'.

When I visited Paris, it seemed to me that the inner city was much more
refined, with emphasis on central beauty and common enjoyment of the
resources of the area. Americans in the inner-city often have no such
civic-mindedness, whereas Americans in the suburb have interactive
communities and many local 'traditions.'

In America, the cheapness of the automobile and the ease of getting
gasoline also makes the suburbs more accessible for the middle class, I
think. Most cities still have no really good means of public
transportation, which puts the suburbs almost on equal ground with the
apartment. One final note is that an element of American culture seems to
value owning one's home, especially for the purposes of raising children.
This may simply be because there is so much land, but it goes back to the
time of Westward migration and before...
Edward