The suburbs house two-thirds of North America's population and are the subject of much debate and criticism. Planning the New Suburbia, by Avi Friedman, explores this phenomenon and proposes ways to respond to the challenge of creating affordable, adaptable, and environmentally sustainable neighbourhoods. An architect and planner, Friedman suggests new methods of design and regulation that would enable urban planners to conceive and inhabitants to adapt suburban communities and homes to their evolving needs, as a result of changing family size, an aging population, or new working conditions.

Friedman surveys the evolution of urban planning, the history of "ideal" communities, the development of North American suburbs, and the theory behind flexible suburban design. Three case studies offer practical examples of his approach, and all are generously illustrated with drawings, plans, and photographs to demonstrate Friedman's ideas in action. Rather than dismissing a suburb as an unattractive, impersonal sprawl, Friedman shows how they can be modified into an affordable, sustainable, and adaptable community.