Suburban City

The explosive growth of American suburbs following World War II promised not only a new place to live but a new way of life, one away from the crime and crowds of the city. Yet, by the 1970s, the expected security of suburban life gave way to a sense of endangerment. Perceived, and sometimes material, threats from burglars, kidnappers, mallrats, toxic waste, and even the occult challenged assumptions about safe streets, pristine parks, and the sanctity of the home itself. In Neighborhood of Fear, Kyle Riismandel examines how suburbanites responded to this crisis by attempting to take control of the landscape and reaffirm their cultural authority.

The results from Census 2000 continue to disclose remarkable population trends in the nations cities and suburbs during the last decade of the twentieth century. They confirm that American metropolitan areas lie at the heart of the nations most pronounced demographic and economic changes.

The title of this excellent release is somewhat overstated. Suburban Base was arguably the most prolific and iconic label of hardcore and jungle music (though less so drum & bass). There are many genre classics on this collection, but it would be impossible on three CDs to come even close to capturing hardcore and jungle’s wonderfully chaotic, punk-like DIY approach. The culture spawned hundreds if not thousands of labels and many more producers, DJs, MCs and events. Much of its output was not primarily listened to as individual tracks, at home on CD or vinyl – but heard mixed together by DJs, on pirate radio stations, at raves and on mix tapes. “Hardcore” emerged around 1990-91 from the acid house and rave scene, a brilliant mutation of influences that brought together US and European house and techno, and, increasingly, sped-up hip hop or funk-derived “breakbeats”.
The term itself describes the aesthetic of the scene – gritty and unpretentious, adding a pugnacious edge to the blissed-out hedonism of acid house.

Post-suburbia is a term that encapsulates a variety of contemporary urban forms, in particular the 'edge city' - a term used to describe the rapid growth of new urban centres at the edges of established major cities.