The Evolution of Urban Planning and the Suburban Solution

For more than a century, urban planning has swung between opposing ideals—escape the crowded industrial city, then repair the damage left by suburban sprawl. From Britain’s postwar “new towns” to the automobile-fueled expansion of low-density suburbs, each solution carried unintended consequences: longer commutes, higher infrastructure costs, environmental strain, and traffic that only worsened as roads multiplied. In this episode, we explore how planners are now trying to reverse that trajectory, embracing denser, mixed-use neighborhoods, transit-oriented development, and walkable streets inspired by New Urbanism. The story reveals how cities are rethinking mobility, space, and community—and why fixing the problems of the past means redesigning how we move through the places we call home.Abbott, Carl, 'The suburban solution', City Planning: A Very Short Introduction, Very Short Introductions (New York, 2020; online edn, Oxford Academic, 22 Oct. 2020), https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780190944346.003.0003