> One of the biggest shocks I faced when I arrived to the Valley was finding out that it was a very suburban environment. Mountain View, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale are completely suburban.
I suppose it depends on your definition of "suburban". Each one of those cities has a bona-fide city center and nearby residential development dense enough to allow a very walkable environment. It's a lot worse in many places back east including my area.
Suburbs vary a lot and in the bay area I find it especially noticeable. Yes, the peninsula is suburban but a lot of it was built up in the 1950s-70s and it shows in the density and land use patterns. It's not the same as a city center, but you can get around on foot or a bike and there is some semblance of a night life and strip malls are not the only type of commercial building. Cf. suburban Chicago or Boston. On the other hand a lot of the newer suburbs in the East Bay are as bland and sprawl-y as anything you'd find in other fast-growing US areas like Phoenix or Tampa or Orange County.
I suppose it depends on your definition of "suburban". Each one of those cities has a bona-fide city center and nearby residential development dense enough to allow a very walkable environment. It's a lot worse in many places back east including my area.
http://www.walkscore.com/CA/Mountain_View
http://www.walkscore.com/MD/Columbia/21045