ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with the premise that suburbs constitute a different environment for women than for men. As geographic extensions of our male-centered society, suburban environments offer a secondary place to women, a place inhibiting the full expression of the range of women’s roles, activities, and interests. The chapter suggests that the suburban environment of women is ripe for extended sociological analysis and appropriate action. Suburbia as a built environment, at least as presently built, is conducive to and facilitating of only one female role, that of housewife and mother. The locational disadvantages of suburbia for women are brought out sharply in a study by William Michelson comparing the experience of new residents upon arrival and a little more than a year after their move. The constriction of suburban residence on women’s employment occurs in all socioeconomic levels. The ability to overcome the conditions of time-cost distance imposed by suburban location varies significantly by age, race, and socioeconomic status.
