r/Suburbanhell • u/Choice-While-3747 • 15d ago
Discussion Weird suburban layout
For some reason this area is mixed-use. Top right corner, it has an apartment building directly neighboring low-rise semi-detached houses, and a roundabout (uncharacteristic of the US) on the next street. Taken from Google Maps in New Haven, CT.
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u/Randomizedname1234 15d ago
This is perfect. Why’s this here?
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u/Ok-Stable-2015 15d ago
might be off topic, but I reckon OP wants to discuss it with people with this sub's overall mindset
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u/Sad_Intention6658 15d ago
Looks eastern suburban to me
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u/Choice-While-3747 15d ago
Eastern?
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u/Sad_Intention6658 15d ago
eastern part of US
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u/Choice-While-3747 15d ago
oh yea but it doesn't really look like a normal suburb, from any part of the US
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u/Afitz93 13d ago
This looks like every normal northeast suburb?
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u/Choice-While-3747 13d ago
not really tbh, this is a unique exception in the sense of walkability. NY or Philly suburbs may look like this a lot, but for a relatively car-dependent suburban state like CT it isn't the most common thing.
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u/Afitz93 13d ago
It’s not unique though, much of MA, CT, RI, NY, NJ, PA, and even up in southern NH and ME look like this as well. Essentially anywhere near highways or transit stops look like this, anywhere between Philly and Boston, no matter how far from the city core. Scroll along I95 and you’ll see tons of this.
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u/Choice-While-3747 13d ago
That's why I said it might be unique. It isn't near a highway or transit stop at all, closer to a university and on the edge of downtown.
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u/Positive-Avocado-881 12d ago
Why can’t you listen to people telling you this is completely normal for that region?
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u/Choice-While-3747 12d ago
It isn't though. No normal suburb looks like that in the US. Even eastern suburbs like this are limited to cities like NY and Philly. New Haven is a relatively suburban and well zoned/low rise city so it would be inaccurate to state that the eastern US is like this as a whole.
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u/Vistalite_Black 14d ago
Many cities with large universities develop like this.
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u/Choice-While-3747 14d ago
Yea but in the US, zoning laws prevent it often. You can't really put an apartment building next to houses. And roundabouts are rare in themselves.
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u/Afitz93 13d ago
OP just curious, where are you from / what area do you currently reside? Wondering why this seems so odd to you
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u/Choice-While-3747 13d ago
I just have a knowledge of zoning laws. The US tends to favor low-density, identical/cookie cutter style single family homes with repetitive highways and strict boundaries over dense, walkable areas with apartments or grocery stores.
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u/Dangerous-Bit-8308 14d ago
Looks like a Le Corbusier influenced tower, where the park got turned into Infill.
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u/AlexV348 12d ago
I assumed this photo was from Canada. There are tons of neighborhoods with high rises adjacent to single family homes in the GTA and vancouver.
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u/Choice-While-3747 8d ago
Yeah true
A lot of people think this is universally characteristic of the eastern US but this is a lot more Canadian ig
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u/Efficient_Key8237 15d ago
why is this so bad? i thought we liked stores in walking distance of housing, would it be better as a corner store than a mixed uses apartment block? atleast some college students or young adults could move in