I don’t think this is a good article. Not only is it full of histrionics and fallacious arguments, it’s also wildly historically inaccurate. The American obsession with hyper individualism is not due either primarily or even in large minority to the existence of single-family houses with yards, it’s cultural and is the confluence of dozens of forces. Articles like this just increase the masses’ paranoia about how the left is full of out-of-touch moralizers who want to forcibly resettle them into a commieblock hovel.
I agree with you - but from personal experience of growing up in a cookie cutter, isolated suburb it’s the kind of place that does something bad to you psychologically. Living in a walkable (dare I say 15 minute?) town now has done wonders for my mental state compared to when I lived in the suburbs.
Also somewhat in agreement re: this article, it’s kinda hot dogwater and is too shallow to do any meaningful analysis. However, I think there is value in breaking down how suburbs came to be, since as far as I know they are indeed rooted in racism. City Beautiful has a video about fixing suburbs where he talks about this exact issue.
I thought this was interesting:
The US government, in concert with banks, landowners, and home builders, created a way to try and stop all that, by separating people into single homes, removing public spaces, and ensuring that every neighborhood was segregated via redlining.
They don’t say what this reason is:
The reason Target has become the locus of today’s particular right-wing backlash is the same reason countless viral TikToks attempt to convince women that they’re at risk of being kidnapped every time they’re in a parking lot. It’s the reason why true crime is one of the most popular podcast genres in America, and why many refuse to travel without a gun by their side and shoot people if they set foot on their driveway.
I think in summary they say it’s due to the lack of public spaces. I wish they dived more into what they are hinting at.