Joel Kotkin, a Distinguished Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University in Orange and author of  the forthcoming book “The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050,” recently authored The War Against Suburbia in The American magazine. Here’s how he kicks off his article:

A year into the Obama administration, America’s dominant geography, suburbia, is now in open revolt against an urban-centric regime that many perceive threatens their way of life, values, and economic future.

As The Cheetah Girls might say: Here we go…Uh oh, uh oh…

First we got blamed (along with others) for the Prop 8 disaster in California and now Kotkin appears to be setting us up as the peeps who’ll bring down Obama. Have I somehow missed this ‘open revolt’ to which Kotkin refers? In his article, Kotkin cites Scott Brown’s win as indicative of suburbanite rage against Obama. Really? As proof that the Obama Administration is against us (and I guess we against them) Kotkin says:

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood revealed the new ideology when he famously declared the administration’s intention to “coerce” Americans out of their cars and into transit.

… current climate czar Carole Browner threatened to block federal funds for the Atlanta region due to their lack of compliance with clear air rules.

OMG! Imagine!  Reliable mass transit and clean air? How horrible. I did find myself eventually agreeing with Kotkin, though, who, incidentally lives right in the San Fernando Valley. He says that urban planners, the movie industry and many others marginalize and misrepresent the suburban experience. The myth of the burbs is that it’s a miserable place and yet, as Kotkin cites, a 2008 Pew study revealed suburbanites displayed the highest degree of satisfaction with where they lived. They were also more involved in their communities. Writes Kotkin:

This contradicts another of the great urban legends of the 20th century—espoused by urbanists, planning professors, and pundits and portrayed in Hollywood movies—that suburbanites are alienated, autonomous individuals, while city dwellers have a deep sense of belonging and connection to their neighborhoods.

And, yep, I even agree with him later when he cites the growing racial diversity of suburbs and the fact that, no matter what urban planners may desire (FYI…many want a future America without suburbs) the burbs are firmly planted. Many suburbanites and exurbanites have now lived in their communities for generations. This is home, even if there are a lot of chain restaurants, little mass transit and too many wasteful big box stores.

Just to be clear…we in the burbs want mass transit, we want neighborhoods where we can walk to schools, services and shops. You don’t have to coerce us out of cars. We will turn over the keys if you give us another way to get around. Already, I see people here doing just that. There are far more bicyclicist, bus riders and pedestrians, in addition to people ditching the huge cars and going for more enviro-friendly ones. And, while it’s great that there’s so much talk about the proposed high-speed light rail system from San Francisco to Los Angeles, we still want something from Thousand Oaks or Agoura to LA. In short, we don’t want to leave but we want to figure out how to make suburbia work better. Mass transit and clean air actually seem like goals that are not inconsistent with the current suburban way of life or values.

The thing I don’t get, though, is how Kotkin can rail against the media for misrepresenting suburban/exurban people and yet, in the words of another great songstress, oops! [He] did it again.

Please tell us what you think. Do you think the current administration is against the suburbs? Do you think the burbs have a future? Click here to read Kotkin’s full article reprinted on JoelKotkin.com