Suburban Health Issues

On page 37 of Place Matters, Dreier, Mollenkopf, and Swanstrom discussed “upper-class enclaves” that families flee to in order to separate themselves from average people. One of those places, Lake Forest, Illinois, is the town my family lives in and the town I went to high school in. The reference to my town immediately made me look at the article in a different light. When the authors discussed the difference between the high-poverty areas and the suburbs, I associated it with my town, often times feeling embarrassed. However, reading the article in this light caused me to further realize the inequality that occurs in every day life.

            Dreier, Mollenkopf, and Swanstrom do an excellent job of exploring the many different ways in which place can influence behavior. However, I was disappointed by their lack of acknowledgement to the health problems of the suburban middle class. Yes, high-poverty areas undergo increased health issues including the incredible stress they experience daily. I do not disagree with the fact that suburbs have more health benefits and less health issues. Regardless, I believe Dreier, Mollenkopp, and Swanstrom underplayed some of the health issues that occur in the suburbs, specifically the health issue of stress. Although it is on a different level than a high-poverty area, middle class suburbia experiences stress with regards to achieving high goals the culture has set for them. Last year my town had a frightening sequence of suicides all related to stress of some type (See article for further information). What the article doesn’t mention are the other two individuals who attempted suicide and were rescued. Although these types of tragedies are rare, the impact on the community is profound. I wish the authors had acknowledged these types of threats against suburban health.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-04-01/news/ct-met-teen-suicide-20120401_1_teen-suicides-suicide-cluster-suicide-cluster

Please note – I’m not trying to downplay the health issues in high-poverty areas. I wanted to relate the article to my personal experience.