Here is yet another story by CNN on the subprime mortgage crisis -- and gentrification.

Even suburban residents who have not lost their homes, are feeling the burden of home foreclosures:

Devastated by the subprime mortgage crisis, hundreds of homes have been foreclosed and thousands of residents have been forced to move, leaving in their wake a not-so-pleasant path of empty houses, unkempt lawns, vacant strip malls, graffiti-sprayed desolate sidewalks and even increased crime.

In Elk Grove, (California), some homeowners not only cut their own grass but also trim the yards of vacant homes on their streets, hoping to deter gangs and criminals from moving in.

Other residents discovered that with some of the empty houses, it wasn't what was growing outside that was the problem. Susan McDonald, president of a local neighborhood association aimed at saving the lost suburban paradise, told CNN that around her cul-de-sac, federal agents recently busted several pot homes with vast crops of marijuana growing from floor to ceiling.

But urban planners also say the crime and deterioration of the suburbs is emblematic of another trend: more young professionals are living in the city.

This change can be witnessed in places like Atlanta, Georgia, Detroit, Michigan, and Dallas, Texas, said (urban planning professor) Christopher) Leinberger, where once rundown downtowns are being revitalized by well-educated, young professionals who have no desire to live in a detached single family home typical of a suburbia where life is often centered around long commutes and cars.

Instead, they are looking for what Leinberger calls "walkable urbanism" -- both small communities and big cities characterized by efficient mass transit systems and high density developments enabling residents to walk virtually everywhere for everything -- from home to work to restaurants to movie theaters.

The so-called New Urbanism movement emerged in the mid-90s and has been steadily gaining momentum, especially with rising energy costs, environmental concerns and health problems associated with what Leinberger calls "drivable suburbanism" -- a low-density built environment plan that emerged around the end of the World War II and has been the dominant design in the U.S. ever since.

Take a second to think about your favorite park.  What differentiates it from other playgrounds in your area?  Do you feel more relaxed there?  Are you more inclined to stay for a few hours than you are at other playgrounds?

Now think for a moment about that playground that makes your grind your teeth.  I think most parents have one.  You'll go, if your friends are planning a meetup, but usually you'd rather have some dental work done.  What is it about that playground that seems to result in an aggravated parent hauling away a screaming toddler?  

Is it something like this?