Facelift on Suburbia
Parklet in Placerville, CA
“The larger, denser, and more urban the redevelopment, the greater the ability of its designers to change the existing development pattern.”
-Ellen Dunham Jones
I find it interesting the claim that more denser and larger cities have a greater ability for change. I would think the cleaner slate, more-sprawled-out developments would be easier to redevelop. But, with the establishment of a transportation system (especially some sort of metro) it makes sense to change and develop a denser portion. A little goes a long way when retrofitting suburbia. After many discussions of urbanism and landscape architecture, it is clear to me just changing the cityscape in terms or curb appeal and lighting greatly increases the value and brings people to the area. Having walkable sidewalks (which seems obvious) attracts people. When you clean up, extend, and light streets, families are going to move in and establish themselves in the assumed safer areas.
Things such as public spaces as small as parklets give a city or suburb turning into a city an amazing facelift. Once you have the infrastructure, the transportation, and the small community features (focusing on safety) the people will gather.
The agony of yearning for investment in the suburbs is too much for me. I know Atlanta has struggled to connect the suburbs to the city because some affluent areas don't want certain affordable types of infrastructure to connect their residences to the larger city network. Connection and public investment make for better communities, and I wish we could integrate those more effectively in our broader metropolitan areas.
ReplyDeleteI think I would add trees to your argument for "upfitting". Its a simple suggestion but it provides so many need features to a city such as: reduced heat island effect, carbon sequestration, adds to walkability by creating shades, creates a barrier between a pedestrian and a roadway, etc. Additionally I think cities should be designed in the form of a gradient. They should be very dense in the city with an emphasis or public transport and walkability. From that dense core, it should have dense communal living, and on the edge condition, single family living.
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