A Walk Across Suburbia
My hometown of Wheatfield, NY is being overrun by suburbs. In December 2011, I went on a journey across my neighborhood in search of the remaining wilderness while it was still there.
"I wanted to explore, and I saw it as my right as a free human being of this planet to harmlessly walk through my neighboring woods and fields. My only rule was to stay within the borders of Wheatfield. And to walk every step of the way."
So writes author and adventurer Ken Ilgunas in this tiny book / long essay about his three-day journey through his hometown—an absurd, bizarre, and sometimes cranky walk through the suburbs of Wheatfield, one of the fastest growing towns in all of New York. His journey takes him through farms and fields, across secret lakes and hidden forests, but also the streets and subdivisions that continue to take over the country landscape Wheatfield was once known for. Though a journey through a small New York town, "A walk across Suburbia" is essentially a walk across America, where development clashes with wilderness, civilization with nature, our rural past with our suburban present—with far-reaching implications for all.
("A Walk across Suburbia" is a tiny book/ long essay, containing 8,500 words, plus photographs.)