In the popular imagination, suburbs symbolize success, so it can be hard to reconcile visions of cookie-cutter homes with growing poverty and income inequality. But beyond social stereotypes, the physical landscape of the suburbs makes seeing poverty more difficult.
Poorer areas can be tucked away in neighborhoods and culs-de-sac, away from major roadways and thoroughfares. Apartment complexes may be clustered near on-ramps or industrial zones. Like one finds in cities, poor areas are segregated in the suburbs. But they simply aren’t as visible, and due to the disconnection, their residents have poor access to amenities and community services. {read}