&gt; Fast forward to now, and I&#x27;m right back in the &#x27;burbs, in a house where my kids have access to safe streets, parks, and decent schools.<p>You seem to be confused. The article is saying that <i>American</i> suburbs are particularly poorly designed, not that suburbs as a general rule are terrible.<p>Here is Gröbenzell, a suburb just west of Munich that&#x27;s surrounded by farmland: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.google.com&#x2F;maps&#x2F;place&#x2F;Gr%C3%B6benzell,+Germany&#x2F;@48.1926563,11.3669814,4157m&#x2F;data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x479e78d7a145c0ff:0x27c53129098974e6!8m2!3d48.1932704!4d11.375227" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.google.com&#x2F;maps&#x2F;place&#x2F;Gr%C3%B6benzell,+Germany&#x2F;@...</a><p>In the states, such a suburb would be super-low-density and car-dominated, with all the negative features the author describes. There in Germany, Gröbenzell actually has a population density 30% <i>higher</i> than Seattle, and the whole town is within easy walking or biking distance of an S-Bahn station that gets you to the center of Munich in 20 minutes.<p>It&#x27;s possible to have suburban towns that are still walkable, that still allow kids some measure of independence, that do not kill any sense of place. In the US, we&#x27;ve just chosen not to create them.