Changing Formats
The suburbs will never go away. I think they will always be around because there are so many people attracted to these types of areas and the types of living conditions the suburbs provide. Currently, we have pockets of suburbs. They are located are the outskirts of cities and theres not really anything connecting the suburbs to retail stores, food, entertainment, the city etc. In most situations, you need to get in the car and drive a few miles to get anywhere which causes pollution and makes this type of living less sustainable for the environment. But in the article, Retrofitting Suburbia, there were some examples on how to connect and retrofit suburbia in ways that make it more sustainable, walkable, provide different types of living for a more diversified living environment, and bringing nature back into areas where all the nature was covered up by asphalt. The article was talking about how in retrofitting failed mall strips, walmarts and empty parking lots into areas that can connect the suburbs to shopping, nature and public transit could make living in the suburbs more sustainable and diversified. The example below is a failed strip shopping center that was returned to its original nature, a wetland.
I agree with your post. There are always going to be those people who want to live in suburb type areas where you can own your own land and your own home. I am one of those people. I personally don't enjoy living in a dense and typically noisy area. I like to work in the city but then escape and be in a more secluded, natural area to live. But then there is the main issue, how do you create areas such as that that are less car dependent, or better yet, more environmentally friendly. I think the latter should be more of the focus than specifically on cars. Yes, driving cars causes pollution, but driving 15 miles for 15 minutes to commute isn't really much more polluting than driving 2 miles in 15 minutes spending most of your time at a dead stop. I would argue that a city produces more pollution than a suburb area, but it is easier to figure out a way to make a more dense area more natural, so how do we do that in areas that are more spread out?
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long time coming to change formats, as you put it. Suburbia is a response to wanting a sense of community for an affordable price. The idea of looking at it through a sustainable lens is something that needs to be considered not only during building - to make it more efficient, but also during the lifespan of the community. Making more "nodes" helps cut down the time of even getting out of the suburbs, which can sometimes take 10 minutes in a car...
ReplyDeleteI think there is so much opportunity to architecturally retrofit these failed big boxes and strip shopping centers in and around suburbia, but I do agree that at the very least we can just donate the land back to nature instead of creating a collection of abandoned building. There was a time where these big box walmarts, targets, ect. were so integral to the needs of life outside of the city! Target used to be my "go to" big box, but really since online ordering and Amazon 2 day shipping I can't tell you the last time I've been into a Target. I can't be the only one that has had this reaction, so it's only a matter of time where we as architects are faced with the challenge of retrofitting all these big boxes. They definitely have an expiration date!
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered about a world where something went awry (or right?) where Wal-mart ends up closing its doors. The opportunity those shells have are potentially limitless. personally, I think they are a perfect canvas for an affordable housing initiative. I mean seriously, I've been in some walmarts that are the same size as small neighborhoods. I don't think it'll happen in our lifetime. but It's something that's bound to happen to some degree eventually and we as architects need to be prepared with an alternative solution, or these opportunities will be taken up by some developer and just rolled over into the "next walmart"
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