ABSTRACT
Sociologists have been relative latecomers to the dialogue over the forms and meaning of suburbia. An early study of suburban leisure by Lundberg in the 1930s signalized the increasing visibility of suburbs. The social and psychological problems arising from the extension of the Church into the suburbs are complex and frightening. Suburbs have been a notable feature of American cities since the early nineteenth century; for as the cities expanded in population and size, some residents preferred to live at the outskirts. Most Catholics are aware of the immense physical problems involved in the Church's keeping up with this migration. But few realize to what extent Suburbia represents a decisive turning point in the history of the American Church. No suburb of Chicago possesses greater interest, whether from a historical point of view or from its picturesque surroundings, than the suburb known of late years as Riverside.
