After Suburbia: research and action in the suburban century

Reviled by most professionals and academics due to their ecological impact and problematic societal effects, suburbs are largely invisible in theoretical debates on the future of urbanism. Still, suburbanization continues unabated. Around the world, the spatial peripheries of cities are expanding fast and are buzzing with activities. Suburbanization is diversifiying in morphology, socioeconomic and demographic profile, and boundaries between cities and their peripheries are increasingly breaking down. Yet, as pervasive the suburban has become, it is under-researched and perhaps misunderstood. In this intervention, Iput forward lineaments of astrategy for research and action on suburbanization and suburban ways of life that may guide some of our work in future years. Using the suburban municipality of Brampton in the Toronto region, this paper looks ahead to identify ways in which research on suburbanization could be best placed in the mainstream of theoretical and conceptual debates in urban studies more generally.