ABSTRACT
As the previous two readings show, issues of place in modern society have become important because of declines in both design quality and resulting activity levels in urban space. In this first chapter of The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg suggests urban decline is associated with historical post-war trends of suburbanization, urban renewal, increasing residential mobility, growing auto dependency, freeway expansion, and single-use zoning – all of which have contributed to the disappearance of informal gathering spaces. Newer suburban subdivisions and neighborhoods failed at providing spaces for community life for inhabitants largely due to the increasing isolation of family life and the extreme individualization championed by American society. In physical settings dependent on single-occupancy auto trips to the strip mall and the zoned illegality of neighborhood retail uses, few opportunities exist for chance meetings on sidewalks, in corner bars or at a local café within walking distance from home. In households where one’s work life takes up so much time, and where television has become the primary source of nightly entertainment, it becomes no surprise that people have little time for community-oriented activities such as bowling, bocce, and billiards. In a related manner, the increasing prevalence of obesity, chronic heart disease, and high stress levels can also be attributed to unwalkable suburban form, the increase in auto dependency, and lack of places to relax and blow off steam.
