January 4, 2013

The Unexpected Suburbs

From Brain Pickings:

Last week, while researching the lovely vintage gem The Little Golden Book of Words, I came upon another out-of-print treasure: How People Live In The SuburbsSuburbs 1 (UK; public library) by Muriel Stanek, originally published in 1970 as an educational supplement teaching primary school children about the basics of social studies.

What’s so unexpected?  Well, except for the cover and this shot:

Suburbs 7

… there are no pictures of cars.

Everyone, it seems, when the suburbs were first idealized and portrayed, got around on foot, bicycle and transit.  Like this:

.

Suburbs 3 Suburbs 4 Suburbs 6 Surburbs 5

.

No wonder there aren’t any pictures – or expectations – of overweight and obese children.

Posted in

Support

If you love this region and have a view to its future please subscribe, donate, or become a Patron.

Share on

Comments

Leave a Reply to ChrisCancel Reply

  1. Presumably children don’t drive, so it likely presented a view that was “accessible” to children.
    With about 50 pages, what else do they mention in the book?

  2. It’s also likely that households only had one car, so cycling around wasn’t to ‘keep trim’, it was how you got to your friend’s house, the store, the civic centre for swimming or skating and back home again; it was that or walking. (Parents certainly didn’t drive you everywhere as they feel obligated to do today).

Subscribe to Viewpoint Vancouver

Get breaking news and fresh views, direct to your inbox.

Join 7,284 other subscribers

Show your Support

Check our Patreon page for stylish coffee mugs, private city tours, and more – or, make a one-time or recurring donation. Thank you for helping shape this place we love.

Popular Articles

See All

All Articles