Seems a lot of the arguments is based around the fact that suburban developments are poorly designed, not that the idea of suburban life is flawed.<p>The &quot;kids have nowhere to go unless their parents drive  them&quot; argument I don&#x27;t understand - is there something preventing a forest from being next to a block of flats? The point of not living in the city for me is being closer to nature. I live in suburbia because I (or my kids) can bike to the lake or walk in the forest. 
I agree an endless sprawl of square blocks is a bad idea - but developers and city planners surely realize that people aren&#x27;t willing to pay for non-city life unless it actually delivers the benefits of not living in a city (space, possibility to walk, good air, low noise, safety, proximity to nature).