I’m finding a lot of interesting writing about the suburbs today. Here’s Jane Galt on how the idea of smart growth clashes with real life. Inspired by John Tierney’s article in this weekends NY Times Magazine, The Autonomist Manifesto. I grew up in something approximating the suburbs, and I live in the suburbs now. (I’m moving to the city, though.) I confess to being a big fan of “new urbanism” and “smart growth,” but these pieces do a good job of pointing out the downsides. It’s hard to overcome the basic aesthetic unpleasantness of big box stores and generic suburban neighborhoods, but I don’t think that the fact that this mode of living is incredibly popular is an accident. People like living in the kinds of neighborhoods that most people choose to live in (even people who can afford to live anywhere they like), and who am I to tell them any different?