Life in Suburbia Gains Credibility

Life in Suburbia Gains Credibility

Life in suburbia is beginning to get some respect.

Hofstra University on Long Island, home to Levittown, the original suburb, runs the National Center for Suburban Studies, aimed at advancing public consideration of suburban living.

Additionally, Johnson County, Kan., is planning a National Museum of Suburban History. Officials behind the effort say that with 50 percent of Americans living in suburbia, it is time to take it seriously.

Robert Lang, a University Nevada-Las Vegas sociology professor who studies suburban life, says, "The United States is the first suburban nation. In the end, these are the places ... where we are going to live, no matter what."

Source: Associated Press, Alan Scher Zagier (07/05/2010)