The Burbs

Thirty years ago, when I was studying geography and photography at the university, the two often overlapped as I documented the urban and suburban landscape in photographs composed to show how repulsive and ugly the urban environment was, especially suburban sprawl. I was thinking about some of my old photographs as I was driving home on Coors Road this afternoon. I decided to drive up into some of those neighborhoods that were only graded lots with block retaining walls and a few paved streets when I lugged my 4X5 view camera around to document the destruction of the west mesa to build subdivisions back in 1981. The area covers a swath of land four miles long and two miles wide rom Paradise Hills Blvd. south to St Josephs Rd. and Coors Rd. west to the volcanic escarpment that us now the Petroglyph National Park.

I still think the subdivisions are not very aesthetic, with mostly graveled yards and hard-scaped surfaces all round. But as I drove through the residential areas looking at the houses, and for some of those walls I photographed so long ago, I asked myself "who am I to judge?" Just because I don't find these subdivisions pleasing, doesn't mean they're bad. How many families have lived in any of these houses? Productive people, who work, participate in the economy, add value to the system. As much as I have railed against the development of this area in the past, I've actually benefitted more from it being developed than left as open desert.

I pulled out a few of the photographs I did of the area years ago.  One of the photos show a bladed area of mostly gravel, a couple of piles dirt waiting to be carted away, and the black stipe of the lava escarpment contrasting against the barren land, scraped of all vegetation. The scene depicts what has become the north end of the subdivision my daughter and mom live in. Both have very nice houses on the southern end of the subdivision along the escarpment. I would never have imagined that my daughter and mom would own houses, and live in the suburban sprawl I found so distasteful so many years ago.