The Sprawl: Reconsidering the Weird American Suburbs

by Jason Diamond

For decades the suburbs have been where art happens despite: despite the conformity, the emptiness, the sameness. Time and again, the story is one of gems formed under pressure and that resentment of the suburbs is the key ingredient for creative transcendence. But what if, contrary to that, the suburb has actually been an incubator for distinctly American art, as positively and as surely as in any other cultural hothouse? Mixing personal experience, cultural reportage, and history while rejecting clichés and pieties and these essays stretch across the country in an effort to show that this uniquely American milieu deserves another look.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Urban Planning, Sociology, Urbanism, Essays, Urban

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2020

About the author

Jason Diamond is a bestselling author, editor, speaker, and big eater. He was born in Skokie, Illinois just before Ronald Reagan took office, and remembers absolutely nothing about the Carter administration. He has lived in New York City for the bulk of his life and plans to die there, but he loves Chicago with all his heart. Jason has worked as a barista, server, fry cook, bookseller, and DJ. In 2008, he founded the site Vol. 1 Brooklyn and has curated hundreds of regular free literary events, including the popular 3-Minute Stories series.

He has written for The New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Outside, The Paris Review, The New Yorker, Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, Eater, The Wall Street Journal, New Republic, Bookforum, Tablet, Pitchfork, McSweeny's, NPR, and many other fine outlets.

His memoir, Searching For John Hughes (William Morrow/HarperCollins), was released in November 2016. His second book is The Sprawl. It was released by Coffee House Press in August of 2020. He is the co-author (with Nicolas Heller) of New York Nico's Guide to NYC, and in 2025, his debut novel, Kaplan’s Plot, will be released by Flatiron.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The suburbs: Where they rip out the trees and then name the streets after them." -- author unknown

Diamond's The Sprawl presents a dilemma that I haven't faced in awhile: I wanted to read this book (eagerly plucking it from my community library's new release shelf), the involved subject matter was interesting enough that I finished it in only a few days, and some of the sections were as well-written as anything else I've read this year. So where did it not quite click? I don't know if the style - uneasily mixing U.S. history, personal memoir, and essay / sociological op-ed piece - was the best format to examine the type and influence of tree-lined neighborhoods that originated, at least from an American perspective, after WWII and on the outskirts of our early metropolises like New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia. As a few other reviewers noted the content tends to stay mostly on a superficial level. Also, it felt like the author was often critical of suburbia (unless discussing the music and musicians springing from said areas) - and, of course, he is entitled to his opinions - but late in the text when cites a particular area as positive example it just happens to be . . . his hometown. Again, I guess I would've liked it to be either straight-on history OR an opinionated memoir.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a pleasant read, and I liked the idea, but I think this book had too much breadth and not enough depth. It jumps around geographically and chronologically, and in trying to mix history, pop culture essay, and memoir it doesn't stay anchored in any one of those things long enough. I also felt sort of surprised that while it says at the beginning that it's going to uncover hidden things and challenge assumptions about the suburbs, the book winds up reifying a lot of stereotypes about suburbs (that they're white, stultifying, and all the same). If it was going to be a history, it needed to be more specific and more deeply researched. If it was going to be a memoir, it needed to be more specific and personal. And if was going to be a cultural meditation, it needed more diverse examples and more effort made to talk to other people. There are a few moments in the book where the author goes to a current suburb and looks at people and considers asking them what they think but then doesn't. That decision means we're not getting much of a picture of what people living in suburbs right now think about them, or how suburbs vary from place to place, or how the reality and the image of suburbs has evolved from the postwar period to now.

[Jason Diamond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like it. Not bad at all.

[Noah Sanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of ideas but not a lot of grounding of said ideas. A few interesting bits but it never really finds its groove between academic text, cultural excavation, history and personal memoir. It ends up being a little of everything and struggling to say much.

[B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book made a handful of interesting points, but before we discuss them we must first discuss the plot of every movie that takes place in the suburbs with no apparent thesis statement.

[Erin Cataldi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love reading about microhistories and I was so intrigued to read more about American suburbs. I didn't grow up in one but I am happily living in one now - and boy is the sprawl growing. I appreciated that the author was close in age to me so I got a lot of his movie and music references as well as cultural touchstones. This nonfiction book reads more as a series of short essays from examining the exclusionary nature of suburbs to malls to garage bands to pop culture references. This book is not a love letter to suburbs but neither is it a hate letter, it's a little bit of history and sociology. A fascinating look at suburbs, albeit slow at parts.

[Matthew Rohn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted\expected to like this book and I thought it would be much more research based. It raises a lot of interesting themes about the suburbs - what makes them unique, where they came from, how they interacted with the generational politics of the baby boom, how growing up there shapes you, etc, but then most of the time instead of providing research, national trends, and other such info, the author generally picks a very specific and rarely representative anecdote on the theme that he finds interesting and links it to several of his favorite movies about the topic. I also love Ladybird and the suburban ennui narratives of the '90s, but this book isn't really analyzing the media it talks about as much as using it as simple synecdoche for the real existing suburbs that we receive surprisingly little info about.

I usually take notes as I read and end up with a page or two of things I learned from the book. I ended up not writing down anything here. But the first ~80% was an on and off enjoyable read - I like movies; I like stories; I like people's ruminations on growing up in the suburbs. But then the last portion of the book swerves into a lot of "things I've heard about the youth" musings about what Gen Z means for the future of the suburbs (all of which is very undersourced and some of which I know is just factually wrong) and some writing about how when you stop to think about it there's actually something really beautiful about the relentless efforts of wealthy white Connecticut suburbanites trying to stop new housing from being built near one of their town's three golf courses because it would ruin the view

[Kelly]

A fascinating read on the socio-cultural history and contemporary realities of the suburbs. It's an essay collection and much like Jia Tolentino's work, it isn't always smooth essay to essay and the pieces each sprawl themselves through pop culture, too (Jia is cited in one of the pieces, to boot).

Though suburbs throughout the US are explored here, many are in Chicagoland, so it was quite relatable to me -- in the first essay, in fact, as Diamond described where he was, I knew exactly where that was and then saw a shoutout to my current home.

A solid and interesting read. It's not going to defend or defame suburbs but offers a really rich and indeed, intersectional, exploration of their growth and change.

[Ava Butera · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to put this down at 50 pages. I was really excited to read this and picked it up at an indie bookstore here in Chicago, but this book was atrocious to get through and really lacks direction. The idea was great but it wasn’t executed at all. Don’t recommend.

[Katie Frederick · Rating 3 out of 5]

not from the suburbs, don’t live there now, have a general disdain for them. this book was a peek into the culture and creativity born of suburbs and also the general loneliness and inaccessibility they create.

interesting read for sure! I still have zero desire to live in a suburb but lemmmmme tell u I love a good burb weekend. something so 🧘🏼‍♀️ abt it.

[Ashley Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this quite a bit. But I was just reading for fun, I wasn't looking for any actual solutions to the issues brought up. I liked how it jumped around to different times and places.

[Christen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sprawl is more of a memoir/essayist format; this book is more about feeling and culture than actual history. I went in expecting history, but I enjoyed the author's background, and the impact of suburbia has on American culture. Diamond focused on murders, movies, music, and youth culture by capturing the feel of the suburbia and the social impact that it has on the American culture.

I received an ARC and Coffee House Press in return for an honest review.

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of potential but ultimately a very superficial exploration of suburbia in America

[Lindsay Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Filled with great weirdness and genuine ache. Loved it.

[EJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plenty of interesting facts and insights, but does drag on in spots. The reader for the audiobook is atrocious—I don’t recommend going that route!

[mak · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointing, considering how much I enjoyed Diamond's memoir, Searching for John Hughes: Or Everything I Thought I Needed to Know about Life I Learned from Watching '80s Movies, a few years back. The mix of personal anecdotes, suburban history, and reflections on pop culture don't work at all. Perhaps another case of mistaken expectations---I thought this was going to be more researched and academic than it was---but when Riverdale is mentioned for the umpteenth time and its connection to suburbia is tenuous at best, one begin to question the decisions that led them to picking up the book in the first place. (Unrelated, but how do I keep on stumbling onto books where the author had an essentially religious experience with Nirvana and punk/rock in the 90s and then proceeds to spend entirely too long rambling about this music regardless of its relevance, or there lack of, to the central themes of the work? Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres, The Nineties, and now The Sprawl. This is getting exhausting.)

1.5/5

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diamond’s The Sprawl was a pop cultural exploration of what the suburbs mean to both society and the individual. He routinely referenced Gerwig’s Lady Bird and Shirley Jackson, so I base-level enjoyed referencing The Girls, but sometimes the analyzation was rather shallow. The best critical analysis was actually about David Lynch’s impact on the eerie expectation of the hidden terrors of the burbs. The audiobook needed more life! Personality even! I really enjoying several disparate insights about bar cars in the 20th century, the Skokie Public Library, and the architectural abandonment of the suburbs, but I needed a stronger wholistic conclusion than: “you can only appreciate the suburbs after you leave them.” Duh! Anyway, Lady Bird is The Foremost Text on the suburban cocktail of malaise and idealism!

[Emma]

Somewhere between history, memoir, and pop culture commentary, but the lack of focus mad it tough to sink into the rhythm of the read. I really enjoyed the author’s voice, he’s a good writer and it feels like you’re grabbing a beer and chatting. But, the book left something to be desired because it never decided what it was.

[Derick Cursino · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about this one - I thought I wouldn’t relate to it at all because I’m not the targeted audience however the writing is compelling and the content of the book is quite interesting.

It’s not an easy read but its an interesting one - I was positively surprised

[Carly Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good essay collection about American suburbs. The author grew up in north Chicagoland and writes about his personal experiences which I found entertaining and informative. Diamond also covers the history of some of the early suburbs, suburb malaise, and music/literature created in the suburbs. Recommended.

[Kuleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I currently work in planning and studied architectural history in college so I was excited to pick this book up. Even though I was familiar with the subject matter, some parts of this book were extremely hard to get through. It felt like the author jumped around a lot in time and space attempting to piece together some sort of narrative with bits of history, personal anecdotes, and pop culture references thrown in. It was hard for me to keep up. I really enjoyed Diamond's enthusiasm for film and music and it was interesting to see all the connections he made to the media's portrayal of the suburbs. If you read this one, it's best to go into it expecting more of a memoir or collection of essays than a critical look at the suburbs.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was....fine. I abandoned it halfway through, so can't give it a full review, but I just thought it was really disjointed and hard to follow. I did appreciate how much the author discussed race and ethnicity issues in neighborhoods, but it sort of felt like he couldn't figure out if he was writing a memoir or a history.

[Sarah Paolantonio · Rating 3 out of 5]

After 'Searching For John Hughes' I was excited to see what Jason Diamond would do next. A book that 'reconsiders the suburbs' instantly piqued my interest. I, too, am a child of the suburbs and was excited to see what Diamond would uncover.

This book is incredibly well researched. I was floored by the lengthy note section. The depth of boots on the ground reporting from driving around to interviewing locals to hand to hand combat research Diamond conducted online and in libraries, there is a lot of great information here. I loved how he jumped around from one suburb, and city, to the next to further exemplify just how similar every suburb can feel (and look!). The research was the highlight of this book for me.

I loved how many forms and mediums of art he explored to use them as examples to build a world of the suburbs and critique them, from Shirley Jackson to David Lynch (two of my favorite writers and artists) to Jordan Peele's 'Get Out' and John Carpenter's 'Halloween', and from The Misfits to Chief Keef, Diamond covers a lot of ground. He talks about the Columbine massacre, The Twilight Zone, and Mad Men. And while all the facts were there to back it up, at times it felt like reading an annotated bibliography. It seemed as though I couldn't get through a paragraph without several numbered end notes. I found this distracting because I was looking for what he had written, not just facts he rearranged to suit his thesis.

Splashed through this text are flashes of his memoir, and they were the same stories over and over. 'The Sprawl' became overtly repetitive. Diamond mentions his upbringing where he was shuffled between divorced parents, lived as a homeless teen (he does not specify homeless in this book but for those of us who have read 'Searching For John Hughes' that is the name he gave it), to moving from Chicago to NYC to start fresh. And he mentions it in a way as if we aren't reading the same book he's writing. They started to read like separate essays or articles published in more than once place where the reader needed to be reminded, or told, a piece of information...but we're all reading the same book here. It reached the "OK, I get it," point over and over again. The same repetition showed up when Diamond discussed his point of view on the suburbs, all of which was interesting but lost its impact because he just keeps saying it ...over and over. There's what went wrong (we are too reliant on cars and the suburbs became only about convenience; they are built to keep non-white people out), how we can fix them (invest in what's there, don't bulldoze), and more than once he questions what it would be like if, well, history hadn't happened the way it did. Interesting thought but also: huh?

The strongest moments came when Diamond was critiquing the racial segregation, redlining, antisemitism, and xenophobia that the suburbs are a breeding ground of. (He later goes on to celebrate how much the suburbs are diversifying.) That is where the word 'reconsidering' in the title finally came into play--at least for me. Calling out racist practices in the construction of the OG suburb like Levittown is a breath of fresh air. The local organizing within a suburb of CT to save Nod Road also fascinated me. It's just a small enough detailed story of community activism working to save the ecosystem and land of a town I'd never been to that kept my interest. Diamond points out over and over just how terrible the sprawl is for the environment. Bulldozing protected lands, or lands that would be better served as green spaces or parks, for condos and golf courses (although he says he loves to wander on an empty golf course as a teen and adult but also hates them and their wasted space: huh) is another idea Diamond revisits over and over again. But this case study of Nod Road helped take me out of the text and focus on an actual story instead of an anecdote.

Craft wise this book is disappointing. It takes on a conversational blog tone with short one liner paragraphs "It's all connected."; "Or so I thought." No disrespect to the blog! But sandwiched between heavy annotated research it felt out of place. Diamond uses these one-liner paragraphs as a landing pad to make a point he's already made. I try to avoid this move my nonprofessional, and unpaid independent writing life because I find them incredible cliche. One sentence struck me as so clumsy and overwritten that I took the time to highlight it (hello, pg 176). Between that and the repetitive reminding--we get it! You grew up in the Chicago suburbs!!--and the structure of the last chapter, which read like the same idea reiterated over and over again ...that is why I give this book three stars. But three stars also comes from the research. The ground work is there and is impressive. It's books like this that inspire me to research my own obsession to write about it. I wonder how to organize it and move from research to writing. And even though there are great discussions of everything from 'The Virgin Suicides' to John Cheever's 'The Swimmer' (although, again, we get it: The Swimmer!) the repetitions killed the rest for me.

Perhaps the best moment is when Diamond drives out of NYC to NJ to have hot dogs with his friend Issac after Anthony Bourdain killed himself. The spot he selects was Bourdain's favorite and it's such a small human moment where everything else, research and childhood, fell away. Diamond also writes in these pages about food a lot and how it connects us to community and history. This moment married all the best parts of 'The Sprawl.' Diamond existed in it for too short a time.

My last complaint (sorry!) is on the *second to last page* when he refers to Arcade Fire's 2010 album The Suburbs (and of course it's not the first time). He refers to lyrics that 'sums it all for [me]' on "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" and how it helped everything make sense to him...only he does not include the lyrics. He ruminates on their message and turns it into his own but for anyone who doesn't know the song (or does know it and needs a refresher) ...what the hell? Why refer specifically to a song *about* the suburbs that help "sum it all up for you" with all this research in place and not actually give us the lyrics? As a music writer this drove me nuts. Give us the damn lyrics.

[Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite the ratings and critical reviews I still thought it would be an interesting read. Like the author, I also grew up in the suburbs and have been following some of the conversations about the changing roles and what it means to live in "urban" areas vs. "suburban" vs. "rural" and what those places can look like in terms of people to the type of housing they have and how that can affect how we live, work, play, learn. So I thought it would be an interesting pick.

As a mix of memoir, history, studies, Diamond talks about the rise of suburbs mixed in with an op-ed on what they could or should look like. What I had not realized was this is a series of essays, rather than a single study or book, which might account for the issue. As others say, Diamond never really gets into detail (as essays, it's hard to be able to devote that much space to it) so in some ways it's still hard to know what he's trying to examine and what is "The Sprawl."

Overall, it's not a bad read but it's not really what it says it will do. If you're looking for a bunch of essays that talk about the suburbs, this might not be a bad collection for you. But if you're looking for an in-depth (or more detailed) look at suburbia in the United States, then this probably isn't the work for you.

I'm glad I borrowed this as library book and would be my recommendation.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

For some reason I was expecting more of a sociological look at the suburbs. This book was not that. It felt disjointed - part memoir, part history of the 'burbs, part musical critique. It took me a while to get through the book because it just didn't hold my attention.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suburbs are a well-known subject of debate, equal parts derision and scorn battling against opportunity and idyllic peace. There’s a very specific look that people imagine, matched houses with groomed yards, walkable streets, neighbors who know each other. What often happens is concrete sprawl, an exclusivity that divides people into haves and have-nots, and an increasing sense of ennui and longing that pervades young people as they grow up and look for any way out. Jason Diamond takes to the cleanly paved streets of American suburbs to explore the inner secrets of suburbia, from shady history to population booms, and beyond into a stable future that promises housing for all.

The Sprawl is a massively sprawling book, true to its name, diving broadly and deeply into the subject of the American suburbs. There’s a little bit of everything, starting with the creation of various suburbs by, usually, odd men with delusions of grandeur and perfectly crafted societies. Diamond talks to his readers about suburban exclusionary tactics, handshake deals and bylaws that kept minority homeowners out of the suburbs for decades. Then there is suburban crime, both the real murders and the more apocryphal stories of legend. And next comes the influence of the suburbs over movies, tv, music, and art. With such an expansive story to tell, some sections were necessarily more captivating than others, and I would imagine those sections of interest vary per person. I was particularly a fan of Diamond’s exploration of the influence of the suburbs over film and tv, since I know a lot more about the various materials Diamond discussed. It was a long book, but ultimately pretty interesting, although it definitely did not make me nostalgic for the suburbs in any way.

[Ed Bernard · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could, I'd probably round up to 1.5 stars.
It’s sort of amazing how much this book manages to fail. It’s a kind of celebration of the American suburb, as it tries to salvage the reputation of the place where so many live. And it also tries to explain why and how the suburbs are a disaster for our country, but doesn’t get very far. Then, it also integrates some (essentially superfluous and not very compelling) personal narrative about growing up in the ‘burbs while living in the city as an adult. Unfortunately, what we end up with is far less than the sum of its parts — it does a poor job as a sociological study, is meandering and finally unsatisfying as a history, and the personal biography is pretty empty and also kinda boring. I went into the book with high hopes of learning something I didn’t already know about the subject (and I don’t know much, I’m hardly an expert) but I can’t think of a single thing this book taught me. Even the prose is kind of annoying — it always seems like Diamond is on the verge of something momentous, but he never gets there. I looked the author up and most of his work has been for magazines, which maybe helps explain what went wrong here — this is a meaty subject treated as a puff piece. He’s also written a memoir about growing up loving John Hughes movies, which helps explain the biographical stuff. I guess this is just a mismatch between author and subject, but whatever caused it, this book was a massive disappointment for me.

Grade: D

[Steve's Book Stuff · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Sprawl is a mix of history, memoir and pop culture commentary on American Suburbia. It's a book that attempts a lot and succeeds only partially. All three approaches get their due - with a chapter on the history of suburbs, an excellent chapter on the music that has come out of the suburbs (as well as discussions about the movies made about them), and a lot of writing sprinkled throughout relating author Jason Diamond's own suburban youth.

Diamond is a Gen X author who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. It's clear he has a place in his heart for "the suburbs" and he's done quite a bit of research to put this book together. It's an interesting enough read. As someone who spent three decades in the Chicago suburbs myself, I found Diamond's take on the individual Chicago suburbs to be quite interesting.

Unfortunately, there is more breadth than depth to this book and overall it doesn't really seem to go anywhere or to have any point of view to convey. This is evident in the last chapter as Diamond struggles with the question of whether he'd ever return to living in the suburbs (he currently lives in Brooklyn), and ultimately gives what I took as a half hearted cop out of an answer.

I rate The Sprawl 3 Stars ⭐⭐⭐ - I liked portions of this book. If your are a Gen Xer who grew up in the American suburbs you'll no doubt find things to like about this book too.

[Jessica Layman · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
I agree with other reviewers that this book really seemed to ride the line between pop history, essay collection, and memoir, and that difficulty in defining the tone of the book led to me not liking it as much as I could have. I have read books about redlining, white flight, etc, so I expected this to bring those concepts forward into present day. We kind of got that out of this book, plus a lot of love for the generations growing up in the 80s and 90s.

As I was reading I thought if I had more familiarity for the music genres the author discussed, it would be more impactful. He spends a lot of time discussing the music of the suburbs, which is fine, but I don't have any special connection to punk or metal. As it was, I thought the chapter about the mall had the most potential based on other scholarship I've read, but it still fell slightly short for me.

What I did like is the description of emptiness the suburbs provide to youth both physically and mentally. That's definitely a theme throughout the book, and one that makes total sense to me.
Overall, this could have been much more successful, and I think if we had just gotten a straight memoir or a straight history text it would have worked better.

[MariWabiSabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two part review:

1) For those who live in, grew up in, or are familiar with the Chicago burbs, this is like a road map of all of the collar counties. As a newcomer to the Midwest, I have felt the pains of being an outsider in the suburban Chicago construct, though the town I currently live in is admittedly more sanitized than the others the author mentions in the book. I have never felt like I belong here; the community does its best to remind me of that fact on a consistent (but subtle) basis; I don’t think creativity or diversity thrive where I live because it’s unfamiliar and doesn’t fit the scrubbed down mold of what original residents imagined. (This isn’t just made up; it’s in the code of who can live in the village and hasn’t been updated in decades.)

2) For those who don’t live in DuPage, Kane, Suburban Cook, Lake, Will, or Kendall counties… this book feels like more of a stream of consciousness and a longing for the 80s and 90s. I wasn’t sure how the pop culture references fit in, other than to dissect the cross section of contemporaneous American society as the suburbs were starting to crack.

3.5 stars.