ABSTRACT
US suburbia is varied and heterogeneous. As examined in Chapter 6, the image persists, however, of suburbs as bucolic idylls, different from the grit of the cities. In this chapter, we reverse this traditional light and dark of the urban/suburban division and consider the suburban gothic through a discussion of three broad themes: the inner suburbs, the environmental costs of suburbia, and the fiscal instability of suburbia. In the following chapter, we examine in detail the issue of suburbs in crisis. We use the term suburban gothic to refer to the darker elements in the suburban experience.
