DRIVING AWAY SUBURBIA?
"EIGHY-FIVE percent of the 13 million homes built in the United Sates during the 1950s were in the suburbs."
That's a ton of suburban homes.
But that was the easiest thing to do at the time. Fastest, Cheapest, newest....most convenient. But what about the architecture? How can we fix the issues that are associated with Suburbia.
I tend to think that 'retrofitting' suburbia is not the answer. Unless this is an attempt to create the nucleus of a new city, all we are doing is creating a new product for people to drive to, park at, and consume. Sure, changing a shopping mall into a walkable street-like area is nice on the front end, but what is really changing? Do we think everybody is going to work, live, and shop in the confines of what was once a mall? NO. People are still going to drive places to experience things they cannot at home, unless they are living urban, there is no way to cut out the driving.
Is driving and the fact that suburbia is disconnected to services the real issue at hand? We can fix the architecture. But how can we fix the connectivity.
Is this the answer? Does this fix the single family homes that are in the middle of nowhere? This only creates a compact area that is crammed with things for the sake of being walkable. But outside of urban transportation, how does anyone even get there without a car?
That's a ton of suburban homes.
But that was the easiest thing to do at the time. Fastest, Cheapest, newest....most convenient. But what about the architecture? How can we fix the issues that are associated with Suburbia.
I tend to think that 'retrofitting' suburbia is not the answer. Unless this is an attempt to create the nucleus of a new city, all we are doing is creating a new product for people to drive to, park at, and consume. Sure, changing a shopping mall into a walkable street-like area is nice on the front end, but what is really changing? Do we think everybody is going to work, live, and shop in the confines of what was once a mall? NO. People are still going to drive places to experience things they cannot at home, unless they are living urban, there is no way to cut out the driving.
Is driving and the fact that suburbia is disconnected to services the real issue at hand? We can fix the architecture. But how can we fix the connectivity.
Is this the answer? Does this fix the single family homes that are in the middle of nowhere? This only creates a compact area that is crammed with things for the sake of being walkable. But outside of urban transportation, how does anyone even get there without a car?
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