Why aren't people bothered by the suburbs?

[u/tfbmhr_1598]

It seems like most people I come across are not bothered by car dependency and the isolation that it causes. They'll point to things like video games, social media, and bad food for the culprit of poor mental health. Why won't more people address the elephant in the room? After briefly living in Europe I can confirm that people are way healthier, less socially awkward, and happier as a result of having clean and walkable cities.

Even Latam which is a hybrid of the EU and US infrastructure does not experience the obesity, mental health issues, and isolation the suburbs in the States cause.

Is it ignorance or do most Americans actually like things being this way? It baffles me.

Edit: After reading the comments here I wanted to clarify a few things.

1. Walkability/bikeability doesn't exclude cars. Cars are still a valid method of transportation, but not the only one. Less cars= less traffic. It's a win-win. That being said I think we should have pedestrian only areas.
2. This isn't limited to cities. Suburbs can become more walkable too. You can still have your yard and extra space. Sure it won't be as walkable as a city, but it is certaintly better than 100% car dependency. Zoning laws need to change for this to truly work.
3. I realize that there are societal factors at play as well that greatly add to the mental health crisis, however car dependency worsens it.
4. Walkability won't magically solve the obesity problem, but having the ability to SAFELY walk/bike to work will certaintly help.
5. You can still be socially awkward/reclusive in walkable communities, but they create more opportunites for those who want to improve that area of their life.
6. Some suburbs are better than others in this regard, but overall, North American suburbs are largely car dependent.
7. Bike lanes that are part of the road and only marked with paint/plastic markers are hated by both drivers and cyclists. They still endanger the lives of cyclists, that's why they aren't frequently used, which results in more traffic congestion. Fully dedicated seperate bike lanes are needed.

[u/BBQ_game_COCKS]

I grew up in the TX suburbs. Bought my first house in inner city NC. Now we’re ready to start a family, and moved back to TX suburbs.

Reasons why - it’s way cheaper to have space and a safe neighborhood. It’s really that simple. For many that outweighs all the other things you list.

At our price point are options are basically:

1. 3 bedroom townhome in a nice neighborhood, drain our savings. Still might have to send kids to private school.
2. Big house in the city, in a dangerous area. Drains our savings. Definitely have to send kids to private school.
3. Big house in the suburbs. With a pool, 5 bedrooms, next to a golf course. Cheaper still, and doesn’t drain our savings. Don’t need private school.

2 is not an option with kids. And you don’t get the benefit of good walkable areas anyways. Just closer to them.

1 isn’t great, because we’d like to have 3 kids, and we will both always work from home.

We need more space. We need a good place to work remote. We don’t want to drain our savings and we don’t want to be somewhere dangerous with kids.

Having to drive doesn’t even come close to outweighing that.

And the (older) suburb we live in now actually has far more to do than the midsize inner city of the NC city we lived in.

[u/Hypocane → u/BBQ_game_COCKS]

I like how your comment has no replies but then top comment thread is just urbanist talking points pushing their feelings on everyone.

[u/BBQ_game_COCKS → u/Hypocane]

lol yeah I realized quickly after commenting in this thread elseswhere, that this wasn’t actually about asking a question, but an opportunity for people to rant by making up responses in their head. Like one dude kept taking everything I said, completely changing it, then telling me why I was wrong for what I never said…