Title: Suburbs Are Changing, Like It or Not - The New York Times
Headings: Like It or Not, the Suburbs Are Changing
Like It or Not, the Suburbs Are Changing
What prompted you to write a sequel to “Retrofitting Suburbia”?
You talk about three kinds of retrofits: redevelopments (demolishing and reconstructing underperforming shopping malls to make them mixed-use town centers, with retail, offices and housing); repurposing existing spaces; and regreening.
That raises the question of supporting older suburban residents, the population you describe as “perennials.”
Which retrofitting interventions provide the greatest benefits at the least cost?

Content: The suburbs were built on this assumption that the first buyers of new homes are going to be a young family with kids. We’re seeing a resurgence of that in many places, but two-thirds of suburban households do not have kids in them. Ms. Williamson: A lot of our examples speak to the high percentage of suburban rental houses and apartments. I think people have this preconceived idea that suburbia is all detached houses and owner-occupied. A lot of the housing is in garden apartment complexes, as well as new rental units added in retrofits. And, of course, there’s the lingering effects of the recession a decade ago that has turned a lot of detached houses that might have once been owner-occupied into rentals. Ms. Dunham-Jones: Since 2005, more Americans in poverty have lived in the suburbs than have lived in cities. So there’s a great need to improve opportunities for the very poor and disadvantaged.