I recently watched this video from Not Just Bikes about the great places erased by suburbia. The biggest thing that struck me is how Western car-centric city design means we are less likely to interact with people we may not agree with and that the lack of this increases polarization. This lack of interaction increases polarization because we never build any general trust with these people we may not totally agree with.
See when you talk with someone about the downed tree on the street, or the kids that are playing, or whatever neighbourhood news is going around and realize that you agree about some small things you start to realize that they're not stupid. Then when you find something "bigger" you don't agree about that built-in trust leads you to listen more and at least not throw their ideas away when you don't agree with them.
You realize that the other side is not dumb.
Suburban design is doing more than just increasing polarization in the world though. By zoning and only allowing single-family homes in most neighbourhoods housing prices are going up due to a lack of availability. That is leaving younger generations unable to afford stable housing or the housing they've always been told they deserve because of the American Dream. When you realize there is no way to afford this "dream" do you feel lied to? Like someone is taking advantage of you despite your hard work?
I see this as another point where people can fall into polarization if they're not careful. Where they can fall into traps on fake news and spiral into hatred against groups that have nothing to do with the rising costs of everything1.
Suburbia also means you need a car, which increases the cost of living. While I can walk to a grocery store, it's not the less expensive option and it doesn't carry everything we need regularly. That means a car ride of 10 minutes to get all the groceries we need. Sure there is a bus, but that 10-minute car ride turns into a 60-minute bus ride by the time it loops all over. Oh, that bus doesn't come on any type of reasonable schedule. If I wanted to leave now I'd have to wait 30 minutes to take that 60-minute trip.
I could walk there faster, but there aren't sidewalks the whole way. I could ride, but it's winter now and the painted bicycle gutters are filled with snow and where they aren't they've become part of the care lanes so they're only barely accessible to bikes now. Plus there isn't safe bike parking at the grocery store so I'm just telling someone to come along with an angle grinder to take my bike.
So to participate in city life you need to own a car. If you don't then you're stuck in your suburban hell area with no means of escaping.
I wonder if simply changing the design of cities would "fix" the way politics is going in North America by increased mixing in neighbourhoods.
Further Reading