The Collapse of Suburbia

Have you heard the news? Look here. Suburbia is collapsing.
Why? Well, there are many reasons apparently.

• Lending Crisis has caused home prices to go down
  
• Fuel Prices have risen
  
• Price of City Living has gone up

Each of these things individually might have been survivable, but with all three striking at once, the whole system is falling apart.
The lending crisis has caused the value of homes to fall and the cost of holding on to them to go up. This combination has strained many budgets and caused a swath of families to foreclose. As these families move out their homes are left behind, unsellable due to the current market, and begin to deteriorate. This deterioration brings with it lower home values for surrounding lots as well as havens for criminals, whether they be simple teenagers looking for some 'fun' or hard core criminals looking for hideouts. The cycle feeds upon itself and causes a subdivision to fall apart.
Fuel prices have also struck blows against the far outreaches of suburbia, eating the appeal of the suburbs using the same reasons why the suburbs were so popular to begin with. That appeal was distance from the city, the size of your car, and the square footage of living space. Now it costs too much to drive. Commutes in Washington D.C. Metro Area commonly exceed one hour each way. Now that hour equates to significant amounts of money burning off into the atmosphere. Going to work is getting expensive. SUV's, the de-facto car of Suburbia, only compounds the rising cost of gasoline. And large square footage homes cost ever increasing amounts of money to maintain, heat and cool.
Finally, the cost of living has gone up for those in the city. This causes low income families to have to move outward, away from the inflated costs. But as these families move out, they form low income communities, with statistically higher rates of crime and lower land values.
How do we solve all of this?
Well, some parts we cannot solve. The housing/mortgage crisis was of our own doing. It is gonna fix itself when the 'bubble' has finally let all of its air out. While many families may get displaced, these families were most likely living beyond their means and were unprepared for any change in routine.
As for the deterioration of communities? People need to start looking out for more than just themselves, as everyone effects everyone else. If a neighboring house has a yard full of waist high grass and bushes the thickness of the Amazon, we need to help out and cut that ourselves. While it is gonna take some time out of our day, in the end it help keep the community looking nice. If there is evidence of criminal activity nearby, do not ignore it, be proactive and stop the spread. Work a little outside your 'Suburbia Safety Bubble' and you might be surprised.
City living has always been somewhat expensive and the current rise in prices should surprise no one. However, better programs for low income housing should be pushed and/or landlords need to cut their rent prices to a lower percent of profit margin.
So Suburbia is collapsing, they say. I disagree. Suburbia is just finally growing up.