Michael Cannell of Fast Company write an article entitled, Suburbia R.I.P. Though his vision of subdivisions as "ghost towns patrolled by squatters and looters" seems extreme, there is food for thought in the massive overbuilding in some states, where subdivision after subdivision gets further and further from the transportation arteries. His premise is that these neighborhoods were created by cheap gas and disposable income. His conclusion is that people will return to urban living.
I think that's a pretty stark contrast. I do, think, though, that it makes a statement of the difference between neighborhoods that have matured and those that haven't. Many of the mature neighborhoods have a variety of home styles and sizes, a variety of landscaping, and have developed a community. Many of the new subdivisions built when markets were booming are street after street of nearly identical homes on tiny lots, with few distinguishing features. The latter seem to be the ones with the most downward price pressure (commodities) and the most foreclosures.
Sharon, some escape suburbi to do a rural part of their life or mountain wilderness, others go closer to the cities where their jobs are. Some areas of the country suburbia is withering. The cookie cutter neighborhoods just don't have much aesthetic appeal.
Good point, Gary. Some people are moving to rural areas. Because cookie cutter neighborhoods don't usually have a wide price variation, people are more likely to move than to renovate or add on.