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Solutions: Creating a Sense of Place
A growing number of planners and architects are seeking to design communities that have a stronger "sense of place." Their ideas focus on promoting: a more compact pattern of development; mixed use (where residential areas are not isolated from places of employment and commerce); a strong pedestrian orientation; active civic and community life; closer links between public transit and land use; and higher housing densities.
Congress for the New Urbanism. Supports "the restoration of existing urban centers and towns within coherent metropolitan regions, the reconfiguration of sprawling suburbs into communities of real neighborhoods and diverse districts, the conservation of natural environments, and the preservation of our built legacy."
-- see also NewUrbanism.org
A Better Place to Live: Reshaping the American Suburb, by Philip Langdon, provides a thoughtful examination of ways in which some planners, architects, and developers have been trying to design better suburbs. Langdon has also authored an excellent ten-page introduction to New Urbanism, titled New Development, Traditional Patterns (read excerpts; full article can be ordered & downloaded online). The article is also included in a reprint collection of articles from the Planning Commissioners Journal.
| The National Geographic Society has put together a fascinating online "tour" of a "new urbanist neighborhood" highlighting some of the principles of new urbansim -- and contrasting them with sprawl development. While the information is fairly basic, it's a lot of fun to visit this page and take the tour! |
Suburban Nation, a book by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck provides an excellent examination of why sprawl has flourished and the broad range of problems it has generated. The book also focuses on "how to make a town" -- as the authors note: "the principles and techniques of true urban design may have been forgotten, but they are not lost; they can be relearned from the many wonderful older places that still exist." Note that Duany and Plater-Zyberk were founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism.
Also available online is an interview of Jeff Speck and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk conducted by Sage Stossel of Atlantic Unbound.
The Ahwahnee Principles are a well-articulated set of guidelines for how to create communities and regions that do not result in a sprawling pattern of development.
City Comforts, David Sucher's excellent book sets out a variety of creative (but practical) ideas on how to develop lively "urban villages."
"Home From Nowhere," by James Howard Kunstler (excerpted in the Atlantic Monthly), an excellent discussion of what sprawl has produced; and a look at steps that can be taken to build or restore compact, mixed-use, traditional American neighborhoods. For information on ordering the full book.
Seaside, Florida, was the earliest, and most significant, community reflecting "new urbanism" planning and design principles. For more on its history, visit the Seaside Institute's web site.
The Northwest Landing development, in DuPont, Washington (close to Tacoma) is representative of the growing number of new urbanism projects across the country.
| Note from the Editor: In April 1999 I was able to visit Northwest Landing. Developed by the Weyerhauser Real Estate Compnay, the design and layout stresses principles such as a strong pedestrian orientation; stores and employment within walking distance; a mix of housing types; interconnected streets and sidewalks; reduced front yard setbacks; and garages placed on alleys running behind the homes. Northwest Landing will eventually house 10,000 people and provide employment for 8,600 (largely through a new Intel facility).
The City of DuPont itself was originally built as a company town (not surprisingly by the E.I. du Pont Compnay) in 1906. While du Pont's manufacturing operations ended in 1976, the original homes remain occupied, and are part of an historic village district. Interestingly, as can been seen in the photos below, the much larger Northwest Landing development is following many of the same principles that guided the 1906 layout -- though with some notable improvements.
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| Views on left are of homes and alley ways in old DuPont village; on right in Northwest Landing development.
Wayne M. Senville
Editor, Planning Comm'rs Journal
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The Civano project in Tucson, Arizona, may be largest U.S. example of a community being built following sustainable development principles. From their Web site: "Civano's master plan envisions construction of 2,300 homes and apartments and creation of 1,200 jobs on the site. In eight to twelve years, Civano will become home to over 5,000 people and the location of light industry, offices, and retail businesses. Commercial, cultural, and civic activity clustered in the village core will foster a small town ambiance. Businesses in Civano will provide jobs for some of the residents, reducing the need for automobile travel and its attendant air pollution."
-- For more on sustainable development, go to the Resources section of the Sprawl Guide.
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