Working Abstract

I've pieced together bits of different abstracts and come up with this, it's kind of disjointed, but I think it gets across what I'm trying to do; at least better than previous attempts. Comments?

27 STORIES – ABSTRACT

The suburbs are a man-made creation. Places that are unique in their homogeneity, and lack of reference to existing conditions. Created to be the American Dream, they were seen as the perfect blend of city and country that was accessible to all. The suburbs of North America have become a highly disputed area of design and planning. There are many voices criticizing the buildings and image of suburbia, and very few that are willing to stand up for it. Not everything about these semi-urban living areas is wonderful, but it is not all tract housing and miles of asphalt going nowhere.
The suburbs are a place that millions of people call home, but that no one really sees as a singular specific place. They are just one of many, a series of copies that extend without limits. The suburbs are places just like any other. They have landmarks and events, buildings where people gather and areas of conflict.
The inspiration for this thesis came from Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities. A series of fifty-five stories describing the travels of Marco Polo. Individually, each city is fictitious, but together they make up Marco Polo’s Venice.
By writing these stories, I have attempted to show you the suburbs as a place. To make them visible, so that the next time you think of suburbia, it is not just tract housing and strip malls that immediately come to mind.