The sub prime crisis is affecting both the growth of planned suburbs and prompting the decline of new suburbs. Is the US heading for Slumburbia?
"The full onset of the mortgage foreclosure crisis, coupled with demographic changes, rising fuel prices and a host of other factors means that the suburbs could be on the way out. One analyst has postulated a future in which the suburbs, which once promised so much domestic happiness, are transformed into the new slums, with rampant crime fuelled by poverty and decay. The term "slumburbia" was not far behind".
The article focuses on Franklin Reserve, Elk Grove, CA and identifies the possible consequences of the sub prime crisis for urban planning:
"Unlike the inner city that was abandoned in the latter half of the last century, it is hard to adapt suburban developments to other uses".