If you’ve read the Star Tribune yesterday and today you’ll know what a woeful state the Twin Cities suburbs are in. Especially Wright County’s many cul-de-sacs and developments that sit empty and unfinished waiting to be unloaded while one bad investment scam after another takes its toll on the residents there. Many of thethem were promised bustling shopping centers, recreation facilities and schools to send their kids to.A safe place away from the city, but with some culture and more shopping options than a strip mall.
This Thursday at the Walker we will talk about the rising rate of home foreclosures amongst other changes occurringin the metro in our panel Next Exit: The Shifting Landscape of Suburbia. It’s in conjunction with our exhbit Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes.
How willAmerica seeit’s suburbs in the growing housing meltdown?Whatdoes a city dowhen they’re left holding the bag after borrowing money to pay for new schools, roads, and water treatment facilities when there is no tax base to pay for them? These questions will be addressed by Lance Neckar of the Metropolitan Center for Design at the University of Minnesota, Michael Lander of Lander Group Development, and Dan Bergin, documentary filmmaker for TPT.
Reading the the story about the Collins family in Monday’sStar Tribune article Housing Bets Gone BadI felt many things. From anger at these fraudulent investor scams to a sense ofamazement at how anyone would want to take out million dollar mortgage whenthey make less than 30K a year. Everyone shares some responsibility. People are desperate, and sometimes getting money for free doesn’t seem to be a bad idea, even when it’s not reallyfree.
While foreclosures are ripping communities apart and shredding people’s good credit, it’s no wonder people are bitter. They should be. Homeownership is sold as the American Dream, but now with the economic downturn it is a nightmare. It’s now wonder they’re clinging to their guns and subdivisions, as one presidential hopeful might suggest.
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