Suburbs
Growing up in Jacksonville Florida, the largest (land wise) city in America, I am certainly familiar with the suburbs. In possibly the most stereotypical suburban setup, a large mall occupies the street across from my neighborhood and a Sears is the flagship store. I lived on a golf course and am still friends with all of my neighbors. Whether I personally like suburbs and urban sprawl is not important, I am more interested in how these experiences can be improved architecturally. With so many young professionals moving back to urban centers, it makes sense that most architectural discourse has been centered on the urban environment. However, that is why Ellen Dunham-Jones’s book Retrofitting Suburbia is so refreshing. While noting the issues with suburban living, she proposes architectural solutions. Dunham-Jones makes two major points for improvement, an increased diversity of scale, program and people and new public transportation. I believe many of the same proposed urban solutions can and should be implemented within the suburbs. While the density is not there, many of the same concepts apply. First designers suffer from the basilica affect, where they are designing from a bird’s eye view and not from the human scale. Second, designing with the user in mind is incredibly important as Jane Jacobs fought for their involvement. And finally, working with Eero Saarinen’s approach of keeping the existing and only surgically removing buildings when necessary, as the diversity of program will follow. I agree with Dunham-Jones’s assessment that the suburbs are nice places to live however, in order to improve they need to evolve, rather be retrofitted.
Similar to Dunham-Jones' examples, there is potential for suburban areas to become more cohesive communities within larger urban areas. My first suburban experience began when I moved to Greenville 19 years ago. At the time, nearby streets and businesses were somewhat homogeneous, including many chains, and definitely automobile-centered. About the time that we moved to the area, however, residents came together to protest plans for a Super Walmart; and we were successful enough to get a market-style Walmart with a reduced footprint instead. Since that time, the area has acquired new businesses and re-purposed others, including several restaurants. Grocery stores are community gathering places, where people run into others they know. Sidewalks now connect neighborhoods along the main roads, and some communities open their events, such as fun runs or holiday firework displays, to others. While the area is not as diverse as other parts of town, our neighborhoods seem to include more people from different backgrounds than they did in 2001. While the area is not yet fully walk-able, it has changed gradually for the better. With some help from the county and the types of strategic changes mentioned by Dunham-Jones, it could have a village-like feel in the years to come.
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