David Plotz, in his article "A Suburb All Grown Up and Paved Over," asserts that residents of Fairfax County, Virginia should be allowed to convert their front yards into parking spaces by paving them over. According to the author, the number of immigrants in Fairfax jumped 86 percent in the 1990's, to nearly a quarter of the population. At a very superficial level, the reason Plotz gives for supporting the conversion is that parking availability hasn"t kept up with the increased demand caused by surge in the number of immigrants, many of whom share a single residence with their extended families. However, underlying Plotz"s true motive for the article is a need for Fairfax to confront its identity crisis in a more intelligent manner. .

             To more fully understand why Plotz believes Fairfax is facing an identity crisis, he describes not only how Fairfax has grown more quickly than the residents can adjust, but how the growth has threatened middle-class white identity. For example, not all immigrants have been educated foreign workers that have helped the area"s high-technology industry. In fact, poverty rates have escalated with the increase in immigration. Combine this fact with a crash in the technology bubble and one has a better understanding of what"s really driving Fairfax"s pave-over law. Fairfax citizens really fear the loss of the areas character and identity. .

             Plotz concludes his article by poking fun of the citizens for expressing their discontent in the parking issue. It"s evident that the author would prefer the residents to approach their problems more openly and directly rather than masking them in petty politics. He believes that the melting pot has been a success, but that change has also brought upheaval that needs to be addressed.