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Boomers leave generation's imprint on the U.S. landscape

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People play golf at the world's largest retirement community The Villages in Central Florida June …

THE VILLAGES, Florida, (Reuters) - U.S. baby boomers have been on the planet for nearly 70 years, long enough to reshape almost every aspect of American life. Rock culture, consumerism and political activism are part of their legacy.

So too are the lasting changes they've made to the landscape.

The modern American suburb was carved out of the unspoiled countryside around established cities to serve as the boomer nursery. As many boomers remained there to raise their own families, suburbs sprawled outward exponentially, plowing under the forests, farmland and natural habitats and covering the land with asphalt and lawn turf.