Recently I have been thinking a lot about why so many of my friends are moving from the city into the suburbs. A friend’s apartment complex stands on a highly congested avenue that leads to suburbs where many people have their summer houses. Older districts like this one were built under strict urban regulations, hence the parks and recreational facilities. Now the financial stakes are so high, that developers try to use every centimetre of land for revenue. Because of this there is always lack of parking space, fewer trees, and buildings usually have 30 floors with 6-7 two bedroom apartments per floor.
This is how the urban migration goes: people from the new cheaper districts want to move to districts with parks and adequate zoning, and people from the latter want to move into their own house in the developed urbanizations in the suburbs.
Another friend sold her apartment and moved into a suburban development 20 minutes away from the city. She says that the nature and the quiet are worth to her and her family more than immediate access to the ‘city life’. This is a gated community that you can only enter if you know the residents and your name is on the visitors’ list. Interestingly enough, these houses are built on the land of the bankrupt farming collective and the nearby village is practically deserted. The young villagers move to the city in search of jobs and opportunities, while the young city dwellers want to move to the countryside and live in a community that looks like Wisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives.
Creating Knowledge Together 