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Virginia Tech

Redefining Suburbia

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Suburban housing is a building type and form of development that has been neglected by many architects. Architects are responsible for designing only two percent of suburban residences. This means that the profession has largely ceded the best opportunity to be relevant and useful to ordinary people. The name itself, sub-urban, implies that the suburbs are less than or secondary to the urban typology. Suburban can also be used as an adjective to describe something which is dull and ordinary. And yet, more and more people continue to move to the suburbs each year. Since 1970, a greater percentage of the population has lived in the suburbs than in central cities or rural areas. This thesis examines why people want to live in the suburbs and the impact of suburban development on the economy, the environment and social institutions. The conclusions of this investigation are then used to redefine the current concept of suburbia as it relates to nature, community and diversity. These concepts are in turn incorporated into a prototype for a suburban housing development. The prototype is a 38 unit residential housing development on a 2-acre wooded site in a suburb 16 miles west of Washington, DC.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Architecture
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Architecture
Department dc:contributor.department
Architecture
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2018

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Albert, Laura
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Hunt, Gregory K.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Holt, Jaan
  • Piedmont-Palladino, Susan C.

Subjects

dc:subject × 5

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
vt_gsexam:17765
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/85614

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Albert, Laura. Redefining Suburbia. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/85614