The Unpopular Solution

Does capitalism breed innovation? Absolutely, but does it always breed innovation? Of course not. In the case of housing, I think we can all agree that unregulated capitalism in the housing sector has had a massively negative effect on society, providing no conceivable innovation. Now I’m not going to talk environmentally, or economically, I want to talk simply about aesthetics and experience. Unfettered housing development has made American housing boring and disconnected, with an overall lack of thought, and this has become the norm. Is there anything can we do? In my mind its quite simple, increasing regulations and guidelines. 

Developers are, in my opinion, an amalgamation of everything gross about capitalism, nothing matters to them besides the continual gain of profits and value, but they are a necessary evil, especially for our industry. As architects we don’t exactly create wealth, we are simply the brains behind someone else’s wealth, often the developer, and we don’t have much control as to how they use that wealth, they’ll do whatever necessary to increase profits. What the past 50 years of housing, and especially the last 10 years, have taught us is that these people need to be coerced to develop in productive ways. 

These regulations don’t have to be extreme, and I could see it operating on a points and awards system somewhat like how LEED does, the public has really latched on to that concept. It could encourage transit connections, quality public space, park access, and civic uses. Imagine how much more vibrant these communities could be?