Relational Design for Sustainability in US Suburbs

United States suburbs are often stereotyped for their ecologically invasive and socially inequitable design due to many factors, including redlining, urban renewal, auto-oriented development, and exclusionary single-family zoning (Hayden, 2003; Jackson, 1985; Rothstein, 2017). Entire suburban neighborhoods and strip malls are built on greenfield sites that were once thriving indigenous ecosystems (Nassaur, 1997). Sprawling neighborhoods can be built and decline within a single generation. This pattern of disposable suburban design has proliferated the landscape where, today, the majority of people in the U.S. reside (U.S. Census, 2020). Policymakers and urban planners are advancing ‘new urbanist’ interventions to combat the impacts of sprawl (Duany et al., 2000). Suburbia is being retrofitted through densification efforts, multi-modal transit options, and mixed-use developments (Williamson & Dunham-Jones, 2009). But the speed of traditional sprawl is outpacing sustainability agendas, and the question of sustainability in suburbia lacks an acknowledgment of the many systemic inequities beyond the built environment that also impact suburbia's sustainability. At the same time, suburban population growth continues to significantly outpace urban growth in the U.S. Not only are suburbs where most U.S. residents live, but they are also increasingly the most socioeconomically, culturally, ethnically, and racially diverse places in the U.S. (Frey, 2018; Lacy, 2016). Suburbs are emerging as complex middle grounds and misunderstood places where the debate on sustainability may be won or lost (Bosch & Polzin, 2022; Lung-Amam, 2017). As people flock to suburban areas for more affordable housing options, designing sustainable suburbs becomes imperative. In this article we explore the national conversation around suburban sustainability concerns, illuminating specific local actions in U.S. suburbs that leverage their decentralized design and increase sustainability. We believe that designers from diverse areas of the field can play a significant role in stewarding sustainability agendas in suburbs. We offer ideas for how designers can better facilitate relational, community-led change, while bringing their essential skills to bear on these often forgotten and misunderstood places.