Every house in the neighborhood looks nearly identical, with perfectly manicured lawns. There’s not a bike lane in sight, and it’ll take you at least 30 minutes to walk to the nearest shop. Trees are few and far between, and if you don’t own a car, you’re essentially stranded. That’s right, folks, we’re talking about the good old suburbs!
Below, you’ll find some of the most depressing posts from the Suburban Hell subreddit, a community advocating for more sustainable cities, as well as a conversation with Brett Stadelmann, Founder and Editor of Unsustainable Magazine. Whether you’re a resident of suburbia or not, be sure to upvote the pics that infuriate you the most, and remember that you’re not alone if you’re currently stuck in the suburbs!
This post may include affiliate links.
Defiant Family Refuse To Sell $50M Sydney Property To Developers
To gain some insight on the topic of suburbs from a sustainability standpoint, we reached out to Brett Stadelmann, Founder and Editor of Unsustainable Magazine. Brett was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and share his personal thoughts on suburbs. “I grew up in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, so for me, the suburbs feel perfectly natural and very balanced, between the fast pace of the city and the slower life of the country,” he shared.
When it comes to the pros of living in the suburbs, Brett says, “You get all the cultural benefits of being near a city, such as services, culture, food, and job prospects, without some of the downsides such as poor air quality, noise, and overcrowding.”
On the other hand, Brett says some of the cons are, “Traveling anywhere does take time and results in emissions, and air quality still isn't perfect. You're completely at the mercy of your neighbors in terms of toxic airborne products they decide to use for cleaning, gardening, hobbies, and the like.”
It's Almost Dystopian
As far as making suburbs more environmentally friendly, Brett told Bored Panda, “Every neighborhood should have a group looking at sustainability, increasing natural spaces, reducing traffic, promoting recycling, etc. If you can't find one, start one, because more and more people want to be involved in something positive.”
And if you’re considering moving to the suburbs, Brett says, “If you're from the city, get used to driving more, a lot more. If you're from the country, expect a much higher density of population.”
If you’d like to learn more about how we can be kind to our environment, regardless of where you live, be sure to check out Unsustainable Magazine right here!
Thought This Belonged Here If It’s Not Already
Even if you’ve never experienced living in the suburbs first hand, you likely have an image in your mind of what they're like from countless American films and TV shows. Huge neighborhoods filled with exclusively large houses that have front and back yards and no grocery stores or shops within walking distance. If you’re lucky, the roads are safe enough to bike on, but more likely than not, cars are a necessity to get anywhere, even if it’s only a mile away. If you do live in the United States, there’s a pretty good chance you have lived in suburbia at one time or another, as according to the 2020 census, there are approximately 130 million Americans living in some form of suburbs.
And while you might be thinking that living in the suburbs is an outdated desire, you might be surprised to find out that many people still choose to move outside of urban areas. In fact, the Pew Research Center has found that Americans have become more likely to prefer living in suburbs since the pandemic. Between 2018 and 2021, the percentage of people who prefer living in cities has gone down by 4 points, while the percentage of people who prefer suburban areas has increased by 4 points. Some of the reasons people may prefer suburbs are having a quieter environment, being able to work remotely, and finding cheaper housing and larger spaces.
Never Forget What Was Taken From Us
Thought This Was Fitting For This Sub
Land Use Matters
as someone who grew up in soviet bloc housing, this repulses me. You say block housing is bad, and then basically manspread like this? no wonder we have no environment anymore.
On the other hand, however, some people view living in the suburbs as an absolute nightmare. That’s where the Suburban Hell subreddit comes in. This community, which describes itself as being “about suburbs, how bad they are, how ugly they are and solutions against them,” has amassed nearly 57k members since 2015. The group does an excellent job detailing why suburbs aren’t always the most sustainable or reasonable way of living. From aerial views of cities showing exclusively asphalt and pavement to images of kids crossing major roads just to get to school, Suburban Hell has it all!
These photos point out how the land used in many suburbs could have been utilized much more effectively, providing additional housing, additional greenery and more sustainable ways of transportation than simply driving cars. According to Untapped New York, the first American suburb was Levittown, Long Island, which became what we now consider suburban in the 1940s. Today, however, over half of the households in the US would consider their neighborhoods “suburban,” rather than urban or rural.
Car-Dependency Destroys Nature
I've Noticed This Weird Disconnect With Reality Surbubanites Have
Honest Design
Suburbs are often criticized for being poor uses of space, destroying natural habitats, polluting water, wasting resources and exacerbating housing crises. But among all of the problems that crop up in suburbia, Chris Weller at Insider says there may actually be an evolutionary reason why the suburbs feel like a hellscape. He explains that two things that humans have natural preferences for, socialization and well-defined spaces, are made much more difficult when living in suburbs. When we live in large homes with yards and pools and drive everywhere, we encounter people out and about much less than if we were to live in an apartment building with a courtyard and had to walk down the street or ride public transportation to get around. Suburbs make it incredibly easy to isolate ourselves and avoid interaction.
The "I Live In The Suburbs For The Peace And Quiet" Starter Pack
What A Cute Garage, Even Looks Like A House!
How A Suburb Should Look: 1. Built Around Train Station 2. Everyone Within A 10 Minute Walk 3. Human Scale
Another reason Weller notes that makes residents’ lives much more difficult in suburbs is the “lack of planned order found in urban environments.” When you don’t have a lot of space available, you have to be wise with how you use it. Your apartment building might have a grocery store and a coffee shop on the first floor, and trees often line city sidewalks, as they have nowhere else to go. But in suburbs, where everything is designed to make it easier for cars to get around, the pedestrian experience is often ignored. The planning just doesn’t make sense, and when we don’t have defined walking and biking paths, we don’t feel comfortable or at ease trying to maneuver around without a car.
Car Dependency
Where Suburban Sprawl Meets An Indian Reservation In Scottsdale, Arizona
I'll Take Mixed-Use, Walkable Urbanism Instead, Please
Right 👍. Better keep the country and just provide eco-friendly transportation to the city.
If you’re concerned about the environment (which, let’s face it, who isn’t these days?), you might want to become an advocate for urban areas over suburbs too. According to the Organization for World Peace, suburban sprawl is a major contributor to climate change. They explain that the reliance on vehicles suburbs have created greatly increases suburbanites’ greenhouse gas emissions and use of fossil fuels. Large homes require lots of energy to maintain, while housing small amounts of people.
𝒜𝓂𝑒𝓇𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒟𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂 (Before And After)
An inner city suburb of Detroit. It was formerly known as “Black Bottom” Before they obliterated it with the highway, as it was a predominantly African American neighborhood.
Unfortunately, America was not the only country affected by the "everything for the car". This trend wreaked havoc in every country in the world around the 1960s. Even my small, historically rich town of 200,000 (founded in the 6th century) suffered havoc for building expressways.
1979 Advertisement For London Transit Showing How The City Would Look If Built By American Planners
Triacylglycerol Looking Like Any Suburb Ever
Suburban sprawl also greatly contributes to water pollution, the Organization for World Peace notes. “Lawns and gardens contribute to water pollution on a surprisingly large scale. Sprinklers and other irrigation systems can lead to harmful run-off. Run-off from lawns and gardens carries with it fertilizers, pesticides and other potentially harmful substances,” they explain. “These substances get rinsed into adjacent bodies of water. The products used to treat lawns and gardens eventually contribute to the pollution of lakes, rivers, streams, and even the ocean.”
How Far A Pedestrian Has To Go To Cross A Street Using Crosswalks
Always The Same
Florida 😍
Turning massive amounts of land into suburbs also takes away land that could have been used for agriculture and provided us with the opportunity to grow more food. “This land could have been relied upon by generations to come for food production,” the Organization for World Peace explains. “This issue is particularly troubling as population explosion continues. The sprawling development pattern exemplifies the capitalist impulse to disregard long-term sustainability in favor of short-term profit.” Unfortunately, however, it’s still the dream of many individuals to purchase a home with a yard for their family one day.
The American Dream 😍
The Soulless Suburbs Of Omaha
Get Your House Away From My House!
So what’s the solution to living in suburban hell? Well, according to the Organization for World Peace, it might come down to legislation. By implementing stricter government regulations on land development, communities could be required to use space and resources more sustainably and efficiently. Creating more housing in smaller spaces that uses less resources sounds like a win-win. People just have to keep an open mind and realize that living in a suburb might not be the happily ever after they always wanted. Perhaps taking better care of our planet and our communities is a bigger win.
I Love Bikeable Cities 😍
Students And Parents Must Scale Wall In Order To Travel Between School And Their Homes
Location Pflugerville, Texas, USA.
Must Add Parking
Whether you’ve lived your entire life in the suburbs or you refuse to step foot in them, we hope you’re enjoying this list, pandas. Keep upvoting the pics that you think scream “suburban hell,” and feel free to share your thoughts on suburbia in the comments below. Then, if you’re interested in checking out a Bored Panda article discussing a similar topic, Urban Hell, look no further than right here!
Spatial Priorities (Source: @fanmaps)
Congrats! Your Neighborhood Is A Highway Exit! (Austin, Tx)
I wonder how far it is to the nearest amenities? Shops, entertainment, leisure centres etc?
Paris, France (Pop. ~2.2 Million) City Limits Overlaid At The Same Scale As Houston, USA City Limits (Pop. ~2.3 Million)
Note: this post originally had 102 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
looking at my comments, i see that i have become enraged. Apologies, fellow pandas 😔
No need to apologise, some of these are truly horrible
No there is ABSOLUTELY need to clarify why a person in this day and time would fly a Russian flag. You don't need to apologize for being Russian/transgender/ one armed/ cross eyed or named Rumpelstiltskin. But flying a Russian flag is a choice you make very consciously.
I'm just mad at the amount of ethnic racism under your comments once you admitted you were from a soviet country. You're totally justified and I agree.
From a soviet country? That's obviously not the point. I would guess most of the negative comments about Russians are from Soviet countries.
This is hilarious, this person is flying a Russian flag in front of her username, apparently a political statement. If it is not please enlighten me why in this day and time you choose to fly your national flag if the rest of the pandas are not.
I try to ignore them, but some of them do happen to get on my nerves. As soon as I admit that I am Ruski, even though i no longer live there, i find myself having insults hurled at me. Thank you for genuinely listening!
But why do you fly a Russian flag? It appears to be a political statement. And if you do support Russia you deserve all the loathing there is.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Praising the glories of the Soviet Union? That is every bit as bad as praising Nazi Germany. The Nazis actually killed fewer people than the Soviets. And let's be clear: Soviet-style flats are abundant in certain cities in America, too. We call them 'tenements.' Only the poorest of the poorest of the poor live in them because they are tiny and miserable... but dirt cheap... except BECAUSE only the poorest of the poorest of the poor live in them, they ARE a lot worse than Soviet housing, I suppose. They're where a HUGE portion of America's infamous murder rate takes place.
No one is praising the soviet union or the nazis right now, you're just being an a*s
Ah yeah, what's the fuss all about. The person just has the flag of a genocidal dictatorship in front of his username. Nothing to see here, let's just move on.
Absolutely with you on that count, hun. Most of these look worse than Pripyat. It's just heartbrreaking
Meh. I was upset because I feel attacked for my beautiful 5 acres of land in pristine New Hampshire, USA. We have 1 big city that is gross but the rest of our cities are walkable and have a decent amount of apartments or our suburbia areas actually have land that aren't owned by HOAs so they are generally full of gardens and life. Generally. Some do not and are also gross. When I went to Paris, I was actually disappointed because it looked so much like Portsmouth, NH that I felt like I could have saved several thousand by staying locally, lol. Have nothing against apartments and how they are better on the environment - I just think most of the Americans who might see fields of lawn and want houses on them are a bit out of touch with reality of having a truly beautiful landscape
Would you mind having the comon decency to answer some entirely logical questions about flying a Russian flag? Or will you move on ignoring the hurt you cause to others by proudly showing the flag of their oppressors?
Checked your profile, saw you say you support Ukraine. Why on earth would you then fly a Russian flag. Most people here do not fly their nations flag. A lot of people (like myself) are suffering under Russian aggression. You see absolutely nothing wrong with flying your nations flag here? And then for some reason you are surprised when people react angrily.
Riddle me this: y'all buy a house in an area where everyone has at least a km2 of land around their house, but you do not plant a single tree. Just grass. Endless lawn, but not a single flower or bush. WHY?
HOA restrictions usually…
People do plant trees, if they can afford them, but in new pop up subdivisions obviously it take decades for the trees to grow and create any kind of shade cover and ambiance. HOAs also do often restrict the kind of landscaping that can be done.
Most trees reach full maturity after decades of growth, but there are plenty of trees that are tree-like well within 10 years. Your point about cost is accurate though, but usually not nearly as pricey as properly maintaining a large lawn.
When we moved into our house eight years ago, it had a volunteer cherry tree growing in the yard. It was about six feet tall and could barely support the weight of my six year old. It is now about 20-25 feet tall and can most definitely support the weight of my son. I have never watered it because it was just a volunteer tree, just accidentally growing there. And it has made my yard so much cooler and more hospitable. I love it.
I couldn't live in a house that didn't have trees. My yard has 3 huge trees in the front yard that keep the grass green and provide a little haven of cool temps in the spring and fall.
Lots of issues. We've had terrible invasive species losses - oak blight, emerald ash borer, etc. We have ridiculous courts with crazy verdicts on what happens with fallen tress and branches, so liability and insurance are a deterrent. Regulations don't require preserving mature tress when building, so developers clear cut because building costs are cheaper, and don't add back expensive landscaping. Housing costs vs income has exploded, so buyers can't afford to add them after and can only plant 1-3yr saplings if anything, and most don't bother. By the time trees mature, crappy construction is ready for replacement and it all gets razed again.
Okay I'm going to try to be fair to both sides here. Some people don't like trees because of the maintenance. If they damage the house, it's extremely expensive to fix. Removing 7 dead ash from my yard cost me $4300 last year. Trees also cause mess, and many elderly struggle to deal with the moss and rot that can result on the roof. My neighbor hates one of my trees because it drops painful needles into the yard. Now, I love trees, but buying one, planting it, and maintaining it to success takes work. A lot of people don't have time for that, or knowledge, and knowledge takes time too. If they buy a small tree, and it dies, that's expensive too. People work way too much, are paid too little, and are often just doing their best. Especially if they have a newer build on a churned gravel filled lawn.
But still, there's a gazillion trees (or other stuff in general to put in a yard) to choose from, ones that are extremely low maintenaince, use little water and don't grow to be huge. I'm not talking oak trees, but a currant or whatever. Also, I'd advise to not plant a tree so close to your house that it can cause moss to grow on the roof in any case. That said, cost I understand. It just seems to me that having a lawn and only a lawn is the other extreme here. Grow some weeds, it's good for the bees.
How do you advise not planting close to a house if the yards are small? Then you will complain that there's no trees. You can't have it both ways. Many homeowners also buy properties with trees, those trees die, or cause problems, and the homeowners are unable to replace their trees. Trees do take maintenance. They change your yard, and they need to be cared for. If you think they don't, you're asking for trouble from your trees. I (unfortunately) had two Bradford pears in my first yard. I hated those things. They both split in half in the first two years. One nearly crushed my neighbors car. At the time, I was lucky to even afford a house. I had two jobs, and I was attending university. We were never able to replace the trees before we moved. Yet people will complain "there are no trees in your yard." EDIT: Part of my point hinges on recognizing the overworked average citizen, and that retirement is virtually unavailable, meaning there's not a lot of options for people to both afford, and maintain, anything but grass.
Because Maxine on the HOA and her husband, Harold, said no. HOAs overstepping personal freedom needs to be stopped.
In the northeast where these planned communities first popped up (the three suburbs each named Levittown), there were very quickly tons of trees. However, these became more common in the American West, which is often very dry. And frankly, most of THOSE communities are covered in trees. Which is a problem, because a lot of people moved there to avoid allergies. And trees use a TON of water. (Even grass uses less, that's why dry areas tend to be mostly grass.) So yeah, sometimes the community is founded with a notion that it will not be covered in trees.
In some cases its an outdated idea that uniformity and control exerted onto the land show proper use and humans “god given dominion” over the earth
I bought 60 acres of land last year. The first thing I did was plant 200 trees. Eventually, I will be planting more. The wildlife need a habitat too!
There's plenty to be said about suburbia, mostly bad, but this post should just be relabeled "People who live differently than me and it makes me uncomfortable because I can't fathom someone who finds satisfaction outside of my own worldview."
Also important: This thread is 99.9998% b******t. Funny angles, misleading captions, incomplete construction...
Yes. The comparisons of Europe and the US are especially lame. Who expects people thousands of miles apart in communities built hundreds of years apart to live similarly? No one rational, that's for sure.
looking at my comments, i see that i have become enraged. Apologies, fellow pandas 😔
No need to apologise, some of these are truly horrible
No there is ABSOLUTELY need to clarify why a person in this day and time would fly a Russian flag. You don't need to apologize for being Russian/transgender/ one armed/ cross eyed or named Rumpelstiltskin. But flying a Russian flag is a choice you make very consciously.
I'm just mad at the amount of ethnic racism under your comments once you admitted you were from a soviet country. You're totally justified and I agree.
From a soviet country? That's obviously not the point. I would guess most of the negative comments about Russians are from Soviet countries.
This is hilarious, this person is flying a Russian flag in front of her username, apparently a political statement. If it is not please enlighten me why in this day and time you choose to fly your national flag if the rest of the pandas are not.
I try to ignore them, but some of them do happen to get on my nerves. As soon as I admit that I am Ruski, even though i no longer live there, i find myself having insults hurled at me. Thank you for genuinely listening!
But why do you fly a Russian flag? It appears to be a political statement. And if you do support Russia you deserve all the loathing there is.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Praising the glories of the Soviet Union? That is every bit as bad as praising Nazi Germany. The Nazis actually killed fewer people than the Soviets. And let's be clear: Soviet-style flats are abundant in certain cities in America, too. We call them 'tenements.' Only the poorest of the poorest of the poor live in them because they are tiny and miserable... but dirt cheap... except BECAUSE only the poorest of the poorest of the poor live in them, they ARE a lot worse than Soviet housing, I suppose. They're where a HUGE portion of America's infamous murder rate takes place.
No one is praising the soviet union or the nazis right now, you're just being an a*s
Ah yeah, what's the fuss all about. The person just has the flag of a genocidal dictatorship in front of his username. Nothing to see here, let's just move on.
Absolutely with you on that count, hun. Most of these look worse than Pripyat. It's just heartbrreaking
Meh. I was upset because I feel attacked for my beautiful 5 acres of land in pristine New Hampshire, USA. We have 1 big city that is gross but the rest of our cities are walkable and have a decent amount of apartments or our suburbia areas actually have land that aren't owned by HOAs so they are generally full of gardens and life. Generally. Some do not and are also gross. When I went to Paris, I was actually disappointed because it looked so much like Portsmouth, NH that I felt like I could have saved several thousand by staying locally, lol. Have nothing against apartments and how they are better on the environment - I just think most of the Americans who might see fields of lawn and want houses on them are a bit out of touch with reality of having a truly beautiful landscape
Would you mind having the comon decency to answer some entirely logical questions about flying a Russian flag? Or will you move on ignoring the hurt you cause to others by proudly showing the flag of their oppressors?
Checked your profile, saw you say you support Ukraine. Why on earth would you then fly a Russian flag. Most people here do not fly their nations flag. A lot of people (like myself) are suffering under Russian aggression. You see absolutely nothing wrong with flying your nations flag here? And then for some reason you are surprised when people react angrily.
Riddle me this: y'all buy a house in an area where everyone has at least a km2 of land around their house, but you do not plant a single tree. Just grass. Endless lawn, but not a single flower or bush. WHY?
HOA restrictions usually…
People do plant trees, if they can afford them, but in new pop up subdivisions obviously it take decades for the trees to grow and create any kind of shade cover and ambiance. HOAs also do often restrict the kind of landscaping that can be done.
Most trees reach full maturity after decades of growth, but there are plenty of trees that are tree-like well within 10 years. Your point about cost is accurate though, but usually not nearly as pricey as properly maintaining a large lawn.
When we moved into our house eight years ago, it had a volunteer cherry tree growing in the yard. It was about six feet tall and could barely support the weight of my six year old. It is now about 20-25 feet tall and can most definitely support the weight of my son. I have never watered it because it was just a volunteer tree, just accidentally growing there. And it has made my yard so much cooler and more hospitable. I love it.
I couldn't live in a house that didn't have trees. My yard has 3 huge trees in the front yard that keep the grass green and provide a little haven of cool temps in the spring and fall.
Lots of issues. We've had terrible invasive species losses - oak blight, emerald ash borer, etc. We have ridiculous courts with crazy verdicts on what happens with fallen tress and branches, so liability and insurance are a deterrent. Regulations don't require preserving mature tress when building, so developers clear cut because building costs are cheaper, and don't add back expensive landscaping. Housing costs vs income has exploded, so buyers can't afford to add them after and can only plant 1-3yr saplings if anything, and most don't bother. By the time trees mature, crappy construction is ready for replacement and it all gets razed again.
Okay I'm going to try to be fair to both sides here. Some people don't like trees because of the maintenance. If they damage the house, it's extremely expensive to fix. Removing 7 dead ash from my yard cost me $4300 last year. Trees also cause mess, and many elderly struggle to deal with the moss and rot that can result on the roof. My neighbor hates one of my trees because it drops painful needles into the yard. Now, I love trees, but buying one, planting it, and maintaining it to success takes work. A lot of people don't have time for that, or knowledge, and knowledge takes time too. If they buy a small tree, and it dies, that's expensive too. People work way too much, are paid too little, and are often just doing their best. Especially if they have a newer build on a churned gravel filled lawn.
But still, there's a gazillion trees (or other stuff in general to put in a yard) to choose from, ones that are extremely low maintenaince, use little water and don't grow to be huge. I'm not talking oak trees, but a currant or whatever. Also, I'd advise to not plant a tree so close to your house that it can cause moss to grow on the roof in any case. That said, cost I understand. It just seems to me that having a lawn and only a lawn is the other extreme here. Grow some weeds, it's good for the bees.
How do you advise not planting close to a house if the yards are small? Then you will complain that there's no trees. You can't have it both ways. Many homeowners also buy properties with trees, those trees die, or cause problems, and the homeowners are unable to replace their trees. Trees do take maintenance. They change your yard, and they need to be cared for. If you think they don't, you're asking for trouble from your trees. I (unfortunately) had two Bradford pears in my first yard. I hated those things. They both split in half in the first two years. One nearly crushed my neighbors car. At the time, I was lucky to even afford a house. I had two jobs, and I was attending university. We were never able to replace the trees before we moved. Yet people will complain "there are no trees in your yard." EDIT: Part of my point hinges on recognizing the overworked average citizen, and that retirement is virtually unavailable, meaning there's not a lot of options for people to both afford, and maintain, anything but grass.
Because Maxine on the HOA and her husband, Harold, said no. HOAs overstepping personal freedom needs to be stopped.
In the northeast where these planned communities first popped up (the three suburbs each named Levittown), there were very quickly tons of trees. However, these became more common in the American West, which is often very dry. And frankly, most of THOSE communities are covered in trees. Which is a problem, because a lot of people moved there to avoid allergies. And trees use a TON of water. (Even grass uses less, that's why dry areas tend to be mostly grass.) So yeah, sometimes the community is founded with a notion that it will not be covered in trees.
In some cases its an outdated idea that uniformity and control exerted onto the land show proper use and humans “god given dominion” over the earth
I bought 60 acres of land last year. The first thing I did was plant 200 trees. Eventually, I will be planting more. The wildlife need a habitat too!
There's plenty to be said about suburbia, mostly bad, but this post should just be relabeled "People who live differently than me and it makes me uncomfortable because I can't fathom someone who finds satisfaction outside of my own worldview."
Also important: This thread is 99.9998% b******t. Funny angles, misleading captions, incomplete construction...
Yes. The comparisons of Europe and the US are especially lame. Who expects people thousands of miles apart in communities built hundreds of years apart to live similarly? No one rational, that's for sure.