Transcript Slide 1
Suburban Nation
The Rise of Sprawl and the
Decline of the American Dream
Written by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck
Presented by Jessica Morton, Joe Dumais, and Katie Hooker
Authors’ Information
Duany and Plater-Zyberk work at a firm
designing community-based
neighborhoods.
Speck works with them as the director of
town planning
Plater-Zyberk works as the Dean
of the School of Architecture at
the University of Miami.
Sprawl Investigation
What is sprawl?
Where does it come from and what are the
ramifications?
Why should we care about sprawl?
What problems does it pose and what are the
health risks?
What can we do about sprawl?
What are the alternatives to sprawl and how
can we change our neighborhoods?
Introduction
Faulty, outdated procedure has economic and
quality of life impacts. Suburban sprawl is a
symptom of this faulty system; the answer is a
return to traditional neighborhood models.
“The deck [is] already stacked against healthy growth by
municipal regulations and engineering conventions.” (101)
These conclusions are made with the
understanding that:
1. Growth cannot be stopped
2. Profit-motive is not the problem with
development
3. Most issues are inter-related
What is Sprawl?
Defining Sprawl
Origins
Components
Consequences
Photo obtained from Jstor.
Defining Sprawl
Sprawl - To be distributed in an awkward or
uneven manner, esp. as to take up more space
than is necessary.
Suburban Sprawl – Unchecked, uncoordinated,
haphazard growth outward, esp. resulting from
real estate development on the outskirts of a
city. The spreading of urban development into
areas adjoining the edge of a city.
Obtained on Google images
The Origins of Sprawl
The popularity of the automobile
Policies of such programs as the Federal Housing
Administration and the Veterans Administration
“As long as zoning codes favor low-density development over the
creation of compact communities, developers will not be able to
shake their reputation as land rapists, as they turn farm after
farm into cookie-cutter sprawl.” (100)
“Even more culpable in this scenario
are those surprisingly powerful advisors
to the development industry, the
market experts.” (101)
Levittown,
the original
subdivision
Photo obtained from Google.
Sprawl Planning Decisions:
Creating the Components of Sprawl
Low-density land use
Single-use zoning
Fast food chains, built at sites of future
development
Focus on highway and parking
infrastructure over public spaces
The Components of Sprawl
Housing subdivisions
Shopping centers
Business parks
Civic institutions
Roadways
All photos were obtained from Google.
Consequences of Sprawl
Car-dependent communities
Increased fossil fuel reliance and pollution
Traffic congestion and increased traffic
fatalities
Decline in social capital
Class segregation in residential areas
(housing types grouped together, like with
like, McMansion with McMansion)
Increased likelihood of obesity and crime
Suburban Sprawl Unmasked
“Subdivisions can be identified as such by
their contrived names, which tend towards
the romantic – Pheasant Mill Crossing –
and often pay tribute to the natural or
historic resource they have displaced.” (5)
“The contemporary office park is usually
made of boxes in parking lots. Still
imagined as a pastoral workplace isolated
in nature…in practice it is more likely to be
surrounded by highways than by
countryside.” (6)
If it has…
A center
A five-minute walk
A street network
Narrow, versatile streets
Mixed-use zoning
Special building sites (example: areas for
a farmers market)
…then it’s not sprawl
Sprawl Models
Photos obtained from Google
Sprawl Resistant:
Traditional
Neighborhood Model
www.dpz.com
*Activity*
Here’s your neighborhood problem:
traffic congestion
Tools you can use to combat it: design,
policy, or management
An example: You can choose to solve the problem of crime
by using design – eliminating potential hiding places and
using beautiful and durable materials to display high
standards of civic care; by using policy – having zoning
regulations require entries and windows to face public
spaces; or by using management – having the local cops
get to know residents and develop a relationship with the
community
Problems of Urban Sprawl
Zoning
Isolation and Segregation
Reliance on Cars and the Traffic Problem
Lack of community
Resources inefficiency
Loss of talent/jobs/resources for cities
The Problem with Zoning
Tends to make more efficient mixed land
use illegal.
Separates everything from everything
else.
Promotes auto-travel reliant society.
Creates segregated blocks of space rather
than communities.
Isolation and Segregation
Creates isolated blocks of space rather
than integrated communities
Segregates residents by separating
housing types
Creates a “Move out to move up” lifestyle
Isolation and Segregation
Leads to Fragile Neighborhoods
Enforces sameness and encourages
discrimination and intolerance.
All photos were obtained from Google.
Reliance on Cars and the Traffic Problem
Creates an area entirely dependent on
cars for travel
Because of this dependence, design
focuses on unimpeded auto travel.
While good for cars, this is detrimental to
other forms of travel such as walking or
biking
Pedestrian danger increases as well as
drivers feel safer speeding and driving
carelessly
Reliance on Cars and the Traffic Problem
The Auto-reliant system requires massive
road construction
As more roads are constructed, more
people take advantage of them producing
induced traffic congestion
Traffic congestion motivates construction
of more new roads, which in turn induce
more traffic
The Lack of Community in the Sprawl
The highly segregated car dependent
system requires people to spend much of
their time driving
Instead of interacting meaningfully with
others, people spend most of their time
competing with them for road access
The Lack of Community in the Sprawl
Remaining time not spent driving is spent
confined in the cookie cutter housing cluster
With nothing to differentiate any given suburban
sprawl area from another, a sense of unique
place fails to develop
Without a sense of place or opportunities to
meaningfully interact with each other,
communities fail to form and people are left in a
void
Resource Inefficiency
New Suburban sprawl areas require
massive amounts of resource expenditure
to create.
The isolated and auto-reliant setup waste
huge amounts of time and energy in transit
Huge amounts of resources are also
expended on maintaining and expanding
roadways
What the Cities Lose
Suburbs are perceived as better places to
live, thus those who can leave the cities do
so
Businesses leave along with the people
The poor who are unable to leave are left
behind in an economically weakening area
This leaves cities with a shrinking resource
base with which to try and deal with
increasing problems
What the Cities Lose
This in turn further motivates people to
leave, which further worsens the situation,
creating a vicious cycle
All photos were obtained from Google.
The Traditional Neighborhood
Development (TND) Model
Model Exceptions:
Old communities
No population growth
Where city infill is
possible
When it will promote:
Unnecessary automobile
use
Unnecessary greenfield
development
The Duany, Plater-Zyberk, and Speck
Plan
1. Mixed-use
development
2. Connectivity
3. Discipline of the
neighborhood
4. Making transit
work
www.Google.com/images
Mixed-Use Development
1. Residence
2. Shopping
center
3. Workplace
4. Civic buildings
Connectivity
Neighborhoods
should meet
Avoid collector
roads
Highways should
skirt towns
Discipline of the Neighborhood
Pedestrian Shed
“the five minute walk”
Use natural features
Zone buildings by size
“Pocket parks”
Culture to nature
Urban to rural
Rural preserve
Suburban
General
urban
Urban
center
Urban
core
Making Transit Work
1. Frequent and
predictable
2. Direct, logical
route
3. Safe and
dignified stops
www.tfhrc.gov
The Specifics of the TND Plan
1.
2.
3.
4.
The Streets
The Buildings
The Parking
The Style
The Streets
Residential street
Yield streets
Travel lanes 10 ft.
Parking lanes 7 ft.
Westhaven
Katrina Cottage
The Buildings
Houses close to
street
Encourage sociability
Retail without
setbacks
Taller is better
Parking and Style
Mixed-use parking
“If every building
were to croon at
once, nothing could
be discerned from
the cacophony”
(211).
*Activity* ~ let’s try it again
Here’s your neighborhood problem:
traffic congestion
Tools you can use to combat it: design, policy, or
management. Use the knowledge we’ve given
you; try utilizing a different tool this time.
An example: You can choose to combat the problem of
crime by using design – eliminating potential hiding places
and using beautiful and durable materials to display high
standards of civic care; by using policy – having zoning
regulations require entries and windows to face public
spaces; or by using management – having the local cops
get to know residents and develop a relationship with the
community
Government
MUNICIPAL AND
COUNTY GOV
Agenda setting
Rewrite regulations
TND ordinance
Be proactive
Think Globally
Public participation
Set an example
REGIONAL GOV
Create strong regional
governments
Create detailed plans
Create physical plans
Government cont.
STATE GOV
“Tough love” programs
Affordable housing
Educational goals
FEDERAL GOV
Public transportation
Tax policies
Federal incentives
Equal education
resource distribution
Coordinate policies
Public support for
Private initiatives
Conclusion
A faulty, misguided system gives birth to suburban
sprawl, which needs to be replaced by healthy,
traditional neighborhood models.
Batavia, Illinois
Appleton, Wisconsin
Portland, Oregon
Discussion:
1. Of your solutions to the traffic congestion
problem, which would be most effective?
Why?
2. How realistic is the TND model?
3. How do the authors’ professions affect
your opinion of their solution?