• Young families take new look at city life

  

  A growing number of young families are rethinking the traditional American Dream of owning a home in the suburbs. Sam Eaton reports.

• Homes built for a new American Dream

  

  Home developers are morphing designs to match the needs of homeowners in a new economy. Kai Ryssdal talks to Elizabeth Moule, an architect in Pasadena, Calif.

• Audio Slideshow

  A home in the city

  

  Living in an urban neighborhood has some advantages over a house in the suburbs.

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  Housing community has lots in common

  

  Kathy Journeay talks with Steve Chiotakis about her experiment with a different kind of suburban living called "cohousing."

• In China, not a dream but an obsession

  

  In America, owning a home is part of the Dream. In China, it goes way beyond that. Our Shanghai bureau chief Scott Tong explains.

• Library puts tools in people's hands

  

  Bob Horton, manager of a tool library in Springfield, Mo., talks with Steve Chiotakis about whether we all really need our own stuff.

• College has lesser degree of certainty

  

  For years, Americans considered a college education the stepping stone to a well-paying job and secure future. But it may not be as rock-solid as it once was. Sarah Gardner reports.

• Americans need more help to move up

  

  The American Dream is grounded in the idea that hard-working people can climb the ladder to a better life. But commentator John Morton says today too many Americans remain stuck on the bottom rungs.

• With factory jobs gone, couple retools

  

  When Jim and Ginger Buford got factory jobs out of high school, they thought they had it made until retirement. But the factories closed and now, in middle age, they're having to learn new skills. Sarah Gardner reports.

• Job market has designs on new Dream

  

  Doodlers and tinkerers, take heart. Design has moved from a decorative sideshow to center stage in the business world and, says commentator Kay Hymowitz, career opportunities abound.

• Audio Slideshow

  Jim and Ginger, starting over

  

  The Bufords of Toledo, Ohio, talk about how they've dealt with going back to school and re-entering the job market.

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  Addressing a widening opportunity gap

  

  Growing disparities between America's rich and poor now limit economic advancement. Alan Milburn, a British government adviser on social mobility, talks with Bill Radke about how the U.K. is dealing with similar concerns.

• Immigration likely to follow economy

  

  Stricter border enforcement and fewer jobs are tarnishing the allure of the U.S. for Latin American immigrants. Princeton sociology professor Douglas Massey discusses the consequences of this shift in the economy.

• Mexican dream tied to American Dream

  

  Mexico sends more immigrants to America than any other country. Former Mexican Foreign Secretary Jorge Castaneda discusses the impact of the recession on Mexicans in the U.S. labor market.

• His drive to suburbia's a (natural) gas

  

  The automobile helped build suburbia. But cars generate about one quarter of all man-made greenhouse gases. Dick Messer of the Petersen Automotive Museum loves his clean ride -- and it's not electric.

• India loves cars too, but smaller ones

  

  Dinesh Mohan, a transportation expert at the Indian Institute of Technology, talks about his country's embrace of the car and what lessons Americans might take from it.

• Putting a new value on the golden years

  

  Unlike the Depression Era generation, many baby boomers haven't saved enough for a secure, happy retirement. And that's forcing them to rethink what it means to retire. Sam Eaton reports.

• Retirement dreams face new reality

  

  The recession has been a wake-up call for Americans unprepared for retirement. Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, talks with Kai Ryssdal about the changing picture for older workers.

• Audio Slideshow

  Rethinking the golden years

  

  Meredith McKenzie was living the dream until the real estate market collapsed. Now she's going with the flow -- and enjoying life more.

• Audio Slideshow

  Sun City sunset?

  

  With visions of retirement changing, will communities like Sun City be part of the next American Dream?

• Is Sun City in its sunset years?

  

  The desert community that launched a million retirement dreams for nearly five decades faces an uncertain future. Tess Vigeland reports.

• Not ready to retire in Sun City

  

  Pam and Craig MacDonald say they reside in Sun City, but they don't live there. They, and their son Steve, share their views of retirement with Tess Vigeland.

• Retirement idyll seen changing

  

  The vision of retirement created by Sun City may not last. Tess Vigeland talks with Kevin McHugh, who has studied the community, for his perspective on its future.

• German pension system showing age

  

  The grass is arguably greener for German retirees, compared to their American counterparts. But it may not be for long. Stephen Beard reports.

• Straight Story: Retirement

  

  Marketplace's economics editor Chris Farrell thinks about retirement a lot, and gets a lot of questions about it. Here's his assessment of the next American Dream for retirement.

Your American Dream

Insights from people in our Public Insight Network

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Tell us your American Dream

• The next Dream I hope will be one that is not based on a notion of solely individual success and achievement, but one that acknowledges the social nature of success.

  Erin Silverstein, Brooklyn, N.Y.

• Almost none of my peers expect to do as well as our parents did, or at least not better than they did. Our "American Dream" has been both altered and downsized.

  Liza Barry-Kessler, Milwaukee, Wis.

• I'd like to see a return of the middle class. Remember them?

  Lorie Johnson, Sherwood, Ariz.

• Times have changed and the American Dream is no longer relevant today. The American Dream needs to evolve to this changing planet of overpopulation and excess materialism.

  Faraz Hussain, Peoria, Ill.

• The next American Dream would be self-sufficiency and sustainability, spirituality, inclusiveness, education and art. Less greed and "keeping up with the Joneses."

  Anna Ayres, Appleton, Minn.

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