Greening Suburbia

The greening of suburbia has garnered significant interest over the last decade from municipal planners, scholars, and lay practitioners, mostly in direct response to a set of socioeconomic, political, and ecological critiques around suburban form. This article provides a brief historical overview of suburbia (including its characteristic features and diffusion across North America) and summarizes the charges made by its most ardent critics. It then examines efforts to green suburbia, including the greening of new suburban developments, as well as the transformation of existing suburbs toward greater sustainability.