Desjardins 1

Richard Desjardins
Concentration Studies Urbanism
Anne-Catrin Schultz
02/02/17
Reading Response: The Periphery and the American Dream

The American Dream, everyone in America has the same ability regardless of their background to
live a richer and achievement based lifestyle. In a capitalist society the American Dream is what drives
people to be successful in their life, by making money and then spending it to live a lavish lifestyle. One
would believe that the American Dream would drive architecture to become larger and more extravagant
within cities where there are countless numbers of people interact. However, this is not the case in Ian
MacBurnies essay The Periphery and the American Dream. MacBurnie Architecturally describes the
American Dream as decentralizing American cities causing suburban sprawl in the post war era. This
formed highly competitive districts interconnected by a comprehensive network of arterials and freeways
1
and animated by the process of Metropolitanization. This process generated a middle landscape
between the urb and the suburb that endangers urban living.
Metropolitanization is due to the contemporary paradigm which creates an edge city that offer
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few of the benefits of either the urb or suburb, while replicating most of the problems of both. In some
cases, this middle landscape makes those problems worse. These troubles include traffic congestion,
exorbitant land and housing costs, a deteriorating physical domain, an increase in crime, a decrease in
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services, and a shortage of acceptable educational institutions. With this middle landscape growing all
of these problems grow alongside it. Due to the reliance of the automobile the process of
Metropolitanization is accelerated by allowing middle-class families to escape the center of cities to a the
4
rhetorically cleaner, safer milieu of the periphery. While more and more central city dwellers escape
the urban environment, noise, and air pollution follow impeding on the natural areas around the city.
The cotemporary paradigm has essentially stayed the same despite attempts to change. With
freeways popping up everywhere the automotive industry is practically designing urban space which
essentially lowers property values, increases crime, and increases congestion within this middle
landscape. Most professionals agree that the contemporary model is flawed however, most residents do

1
MacBurnie, Ian. 1995. "The Periphery and the American Dream." Journal of Architectural Education
(1984-) (Blackwell Publishing) 48 (3): 134-143.
2
Ibid
3
Ibid
4
Ibid
 Desjardins 2

not see the weaknesses. Professionals have divided into three different groups of physical approaches
that consist of engagers who seek to positively engages the contemporary paradigms metaphysical
5 6
qualities , formalists who adapt the contemporary model through aesthetic strategies , and the
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suburban villagers who propose compact, high-density developments accessed by collective transport.
Each of the three approaches have flaws of their own.
The three groups; engagers, formalists, and suburban villagers, all approach the contemporary
paradigm through and physical manner. MacBurnis believes that American urbanism is fundamentally a
cultural project, not one of aesthetics nor technology, but rather one of ideology: of values, motives, and
8
ambitions. Suburbia is a result of the American Dream has been perceived through television,
advertisements and the ever-changing culture of America as the only legitimate manifestation of the
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good-life and the American way. The idea of suburbia has created an antipathy towards urban living, it
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associates central city life with disorder, corruption, subcultures, crime, and violence. These negative
connotations draw dwellers away from urbia to suburbia.
Engagers conceived the strategy of critical engagement which seeks to deconstruct the
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operative peripheral urbanization paradigm to achieve change with continuity. This ideal is not just
physical and might not resolve the problems with the middle landscape fully to architects and urbanists
desires but it will partially resolve the issues. One idea that has risen from this concept is connecting
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disparate enclaves across the metropolis through infrastructural corridors. These spaces will be
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comprised of territories situated within or adjacent to major rights-of-way. These projects would
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address polemics predominant socioeconomic and environmental concerns. The strategy and
intellectual position of critical engagement is the most appropriate approach to solve the middle
landscape issues while making urbia livable again.

Works Cited
MacBurnie, Ian. 1995. "The Periphery and the American Dream." Journal of Architectural Education
(1984-) (Blackwell Publishing) 48 (3): 134-143.

Questions:
Will suburbia ever fall?
Why are the ideals of the suburban villagers less than ideal? Transit oriented societies work in cities like
Tokyo and Hong Kong.

5
Ibid
6
Ibid
7
Ibid
8
Ibid
9
Ibid
10
Ibid
11
Ibid
12
Ibid
13
Ibid
14
Ibid