suburbia
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How many guinea pigs does it take to mow your lawn?
The average American lawn is one-fifth of an acre, or 8,712 square feet. That’s a lot of passes with your push reel mower. Wouldn’t it be easier if you could just hire some goats, cows, or guinea pigs to take care of it for you? Movoto.com, a real estate company, is helping you plan your […]
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Nature is trying to reabsorb the exurbs
Great news for folks who have watched the value of their exurban McMansions circling the drain over the past few years: These fringe habitations can be returned to nature to find new life as wildlife habitats. It’s basically the real estate version of composting. Okay, so there's not really an official effort to make subdivisions […]
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Merry Bikesmas: A 1970s Schwinn livens up a family holiday
Photo: Joe Penniston This year, as we have in years past, my wife and I packed up the kids and flew across the country to spend the holidays with her family in suburban Baltimore. Christmas at the Thomas house is always a festive affair: crab soup, wine by the bottleful, quality time with grandma and […]
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Tile your roof with solar shingles
If you want to generate some solar energy but don't want to have weird-looking solar panels on your roof, Dow Solar has a solution for you. The company has achieved solar shingularity: Its roof shingles are solar panels! The solar panels are shingles! The discerning homeowner can live out green dreams while still conforming to […]
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Stranded in suburbia: Why aren’t Americans moving to the city?
It's going to take more than wishful thinking to convince Americans to move back to the urban core.
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The curse of the exurbs
Sprawling, farther-off suburbs like Yorkville, Ill., boomed during the housing bubble, but have taken a terrific tumble in the crash.
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Levitt to Beaver: Suburbia gets a mixed-use makeover
Designers set out to make Levittown, N.Y. -- the original suburban gold standard -- more livable and less car-dependent.
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Want a safe place to raise kids? Look to the cities
Cities might be enriching and green and beneficial for kids in all kinds of ways. But what most parents want to know is, are they safe? The answer is that there is nothing inherently dangerous about cities. On the contrary.