Suburban houses are familiar. They have a lawn that is green and a driveway. Maybe a modest front porch. In the back yard there is a patio or deck, and perhaps a barbecue grill as well. Neighbours are on the other side of the fence. We know their names. On the street, children play. The persistence of this benevolent cultural cliche is not to be underestimated. Even while the European megalopolises around the Ruhr and elsewhere in Europe shrink in population, their absolute size, the total 'urbanised' surface, is growing due to the unbroken expansion of suburban housing. This is due to the demands increasing expectations of space per dweller, and also to the increasing number of small and single households. But most importantly, it is due to people still moving away from traditional urban apartment-dwelling in search of a different lifestyle associated with living in a freestanding house set in 'green'.
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