Growing up surrounded by standard suburban developments, I never thought too far into the ACTUAL layout of my town. I kind of just thought of it as a backdrop. Just a bunch of different restaurants, shops, and parks where daily life unfolded. But after reading Jane Jacobs, from The Death and Life of the Great American City and James Howard Kunstler, “The Ghastly Tragedy of the Suburbs” TEDTalk and thinking about how physical spaces interact with us, I’ve started to notice things a little differently. The design of the physical spaces that we spend much of lives in definitely influences our social interactions and how safe/isolated we feel. Jacobs ideas of city planning and Kunstler’s TEDTalk made me realize how much our surroundings shape our daily experiences.

In The Death and Life of the Great American City, Jacobs argues that safe and lively streets aren’t just an accident. In The Death and Life of the Great American City, Jacobs argues that safe and lively streets aren’t just an accident. They depend on how people use the spaces around them. One of her main ideas is “eyes on the street,” which explains how having people walking around and using public spaces can make an area feel safer. When people are outside going about their daily lives, they naturally pay attention to what is happening around them. Before reading Jacobs, I never really thought about how something as simple as people being outside could affect how safe a neighborhood feels. I just assumed some places felt safer than others without thinking about why. Kunstler’s TED Talk made me think about this in a different way. He criticizes suburban developments because they often separate houses, businesses, and other places people need to go. This makes driving necessary for almost everything. Growing up in the suburbs, I was used to getting in a car whenever I wanted to go somewhere. I never really questioned why I couldn’t just walk to a restaurant or store. Kunstler made me realize that the way suburbs are designed can make people feel disconnected from their surroundings. Even if places seem close, they might not be easy to reach without a car. Thinking about Carrollton, I can see the difference in places like Adamson Square compared to typical shopping centers. Adamson Square has businesses close together, sidewalks, and places where people can walk around. People can stop to eat, look in shops, or spend time downtown. This creates more chances for people to interact, even if it is just a quick conversation or passing someone on the sidewalk. In comparison, shopping centers where everyone drives from one store to another do not encourage the same kind of interaction. This connects to Jacobs’s ideas because the way a place is designed can influence whether people feel part of a community.I don’t think suburbs are necessarily bad, but I do think there are things that could be improved. Having a house and a yard can be nice, but neighborhoods should also make it easier for people to walk around and interact with others.

Overall, Jacobs and Kunstler have changed how I look at my surroundings. I now realize that the design of a town affects more than just how it looks. It can influence how safe people feel, how often they interact, and whether they feel connected to their community. I still see my town as the place where I grew up, but now I think more about why it looks the way it does and how it could be designed differently.