CST and the Suburbs

I agree with Rick that there's something just not quite Catholic about suburbs, although, like him, I have a hard time putting my finger on it.  I've attended urban, rural, and suburban Catholic parishes.  And the first two just feel more Catholic to me, particularly the urban parishes.  I think part of the answer is the immigrant experience, which has really defined the culture of Catholicism in the United States and which has been an overwhelmingly urban phenomenon.  (This actually reminds me of another book to add to the list:  Gerald Gamm's Urban Exodus:  Why the Jews Left Boston and the Catholics Stayed.) 

But, aside from perceptions of authenticity, I also think there's a moral case to be made against suburban living on grounds of justice, community, and the environment.  I think all three objections revolve around the car-dependence that suburban patterns of development literally mandate.  Car-dependence separates people from one another, isolates the very young and very old, burdens the poor and harms the environment.  The justice and communitarian objections to the suburban lifestyle resonate strongly with traditional themes of CST.  The environment, on the other hand, has been something of an ugly stepchild within CST.  The Church has had things to say about the environment from time to time, though, and I think (or at least hope) it will have much more to say about it in the  future.