expanding the urban design agenda: a critique of the new urbanism

8/3/2019 Expanding the Urban Design Agenda: A Critique of the New Urbanism

1/10


2/10

Tuo

I tlle rnid 1970s,q.hennranifestationsf nalc dominatnrn n\.rerjcan society 'ere undr attackas part 01a largeanddiverse',.idl movcnent againstall fbrms of !,cial injustjce, emidisr.rholan andpoliclmakers urncd their attention1o he limitations,i $omen in traditionalLrrban ettings.One reason or this focus.ns that women'sncreased ccess o education nd thcir large:Lrnbersnr the work force altered hc seParation f malc and'dnale n,les, chdltcnging he segregation f public and prnte,orlds exempliliedby lou.densitysuburbancommnnilies.Pio-:rcring studies howcd herelatn,nship f housing nd communityjcsign to econoDicopportunityand sociability or rvomen Rcirrchcrs found hat the spatialorganizalionf the suburbs enc:rerl nen andcncumbered omcn,who rvere elt jsolated ot onl!,:r,n the urban activitiesenjo],cdby then coinmutinghusbands-rt even ion one another.But rvhjlecitieso$eredgreater ppor-:rnities lor g,erybody-including shorter rrvel to work and in:reased amily useof public and cultural acilities the gronrh of:re suburbs ecmcd n rreversiblcrcnd.' Scholars, rchftccts, nd- nnmunity aclivisG hereforepromotcd he idea that Amcrican-:bLrrbs houldbecomcnore like cities, hai is. densetand nore-:bini?ed, providingbctter access o public transPortation ndr rcing servicesnd amcnities ithin walkingdistance f homcs'Changesn zoningwcre seenas, pdoritv n thisellbrt bccause

nrng 'as and s) beingused o excludennovaiive sesof spacc: rcxpond o the needsof uorkingwomen.Examplesnclude hc.rrringofhomcs by singleparents fdifferent amilies,workingfofr:\ in the home,and the prsenccn the neighborhood f conve-- enceslorcsand child carecentcrs.Advocates l thc poor urged. ,men1()oin the challengeso rcstrictive oning.whichhad the.lect of limiling cooperative ousing,battered vomcnshelters,,-d other acilities o marginalneighborhoods.vhere hcrc rlere

rho crine, poorerschools,essprblic transportatnrn,nd ewcrln the decades ince,dcsigners ave ntroduceda multitudc ofn.rtivesk) transform he subufb, ncludingmixed-use oningrreate neighborhoods 'ith decentralizcd ubllc services nd

,nr ncu housing ypes.No initiativehas bccn morevisibleor

ExpandingheUrbanDesignAgenda:A Critiquef heNewUrbanismSusanaorre


3/10

36

influential han thc Nc$ Urbanisn, 'hoseannurl congfess eeksto becomehc broadest ossible mbrellaocffcct urbanchangclnAlthough the terms 'New Urbanism,""neo,rradirional l:nning,"and TradrtionalNejghborhoodDc!elopment TND)" mrvrefer o work in a variet! of Lrrban ettings liom inlill sructurcsto thc rcplanning fobsotete hoppingmalls the mosr nf:lucntialof Netr Urbanistprcjectshavebeenncw rcsldential ommunitjcsbuilt beyonri he edgeof netropolitanareas nd niriaredby commcrcialdevelopers.Theguiding deas f dremovcmenl yere aidout n rhc so calledAhwanccPrinciples,wbich envisionan urb.tnpatternrhar s dcccntmlized and Rhere residentialdcvelopments re small ancldensccnoughso'that bousing,obs,dailv needsandotheracrilitics areDithin easvwalkingdisrancc f eachorher." hc comnunity shotrldalrc havea "ccntcr bcus tbat combincs ommercial.civic,cultnraland e$earional ses."Srreets houldbc dcsignedoslowdowncars;bjcyclepathsandconvenient ublic ransportationstops vould ncrease edestrianmolement. Eachcommunily orclusterof comnrunities houldbe protected rom devclopmenrperpetuity y well defincdedges uchasagricuhural reenbelts rsildljfe corridors." s for the communitiessocialconposirhn, adive.sity f housingypcs yvoLrldlenableitizens rom a nide rangeofincome evels ndagegroups r live6ithjn its boundaries.",The populationof built TNDs was estimaredn 1996 at twothousand eo?|e." iur Neu Urbanistplanningprinciplesare be-comingvery influential, hroughbotb their adoptionby nationaland local planningorganiz.rtionsDd heir diffusion rhroughdistorted appljcations y developers rxjous to prollt from a nerv

Celebration ersusHOME5:ContrastingPartialVisionsAlthoughSeasidc, lorida,was be firstexamplc fa nervparadigmfor urbanand suburban esign,wharwilllikel), b rcmembered sihe mosraccompiished xample f a lND b Celebration illagc, tncighborhood ,ithin the Disneyowncd development f Ccicbration,l ; lorida. '

CclcbrationVillage omprises any kcy eatures fthe Ncw Urbanistplanningcredo,school, ccrcation, nd convenjencc hopping(inan upscale upennarket atcring l) xotic astes)arc ithjna shortwalk ofhomes.The single amilyhouses aveconsiderabievariety, n termsof both visualapperrrnceand pricerange.Nots,rcgardlessf house lze. resmall, esultinginhigherdcnsiiiesandmoreshared penspace han s typical n the subu bs. hc Disnev


4/10

Corporation lsoprovided entalapartments,nd manyhousesea-ture very smallstudios br live in hclp above he garages. lso nconformity vith New Urb.nist principles,CelebrationVillage slvithin walkingdistanceol CelebratjonPlace,an ollice park al-thoughVillageand Placearenot connected y sidewalks.

CelebrationVillageand the adjoiningneishborhoods f WestVillageand LakeEvalln occlrpyover900 acres,Dith 342 ots tbrsinglc amily homes n 6re sizes, atled Estate,Village,Cottage,Gardcn,and Tonnhone in the promotional iterature." wo andthrcc story apartmentbuildings ine CelebrationVillages ourblock ong axisbetween he Golf Clubhouseand the Downlown.This axiscomprises narrow ineal park with the state'requireddrainage hannel icturesquelyandscaped ith flowerc ndgrassesand ined with benches. he residential istdctson both sidesofrhe aris havea mi\ture offourof the {ive ot t1pes, rom"estate"oauached ownhouses.'n ousesn the samcpricerange aceeachother nd sharealleyswith houses n the next owerp.ice range.[ach district includes ts own diminutivc park. 6lled with play.quipment or ornamcntalplantings.The Downtown area com-rrisesapproximatelyinc acres nd nctr-rdesarkingots or shop'rers surrcundedby apartments.Downtown'sblock long N{ainirreet is a continuationof ihe axis minusdrafnagc hannel), r:rndins t f iorn the Colf Clubhouse o an artificial akesunoundedrr a promenade nd a joggjng rail. Though housesare the only':rucrlr.esn Celebrationhat canbebuitt by ndependent ontrac-: {s. Disneyprovides heplansanddetailsanddoesnot allowom-.-'. to aher the look of their homes. n addition o the lake, he.\k'nsive nfrastructurencludesan eighteen-holeolf courseand, l)isnev-sponsoredchoolAcadcmywhere eachers an be up::ted on teachingmethodsand technologies. he public school-r,:tes in a buildingprovidcd y Disney."Celebrationisafetv or children, enforced hrough ow spccd-rs on thegentlycurvingstreets nd constant upervision y se,:r. cars. s advertisedhrough he corporationtogo agnl on a-,clc. followedby her dog,nrt to a protective ree anda piclet. .c Cclebration llage s teachedfrom he stripbyalong,wind: road,uhich progressivelyanowsuntil the slow crossing f a:.--r bridgcand a glimpseof imposinghomesand tasteful and-. ,rrng ndicatearri\|.-.lebration, then, doesaddress one of the concerns alsed y

1,\t critiquesof the suburb,specificallyhe creationof a sate- nment br childrenwherehomes reclose o workandwithin' . rs distance f convenience tores nd amenities.But it does:hr contcxtof a rigid, conkolledsocialmachineof the type- t,l in the movicTlreTrumz Shrru-which maybe satisf,ing

Expandingthe37


5/10

l8

lo mostofCelebrations urrent nhabit!ntsbut canbardly e akenasa model or thc long erm or on a s.idescalc n a naLon irundedon thc right to crankv ndnidualisnr.'lb Lrndcrst.rndhat concerns cgardinghe opti{,ns or rvorkngsomcn rnd thetr i;milies remainunadrcsscd y TNDS, wc rurnto Dolorcs hldn's bll,ep rt for a fcminisl niluenced neighborhooddcsign,presentedn 1980, ust l,cforc dre publicemcrgcnccof Nc$ Urbanism.Haydens lanassLrmcdsradicala remodctingof rlre subu.b as the New Urbanistspropose, ut on vcrr diflerent premises. beenvjsioncd n 'expeflnent n rnccting mployedrvomenlseeds thatuould mdimize thei.personal hoices boutchilcl rearingand sociabjlit!."') The expernrent. cquiringpfox,iinitv k) an urbanarca,woukl be nitiatedby honrcnukcrs' rsani,zatnrns, nned bv mcn and uomen: hence he projccts cronvm.HONIES (HomcmalcrsOrganizrtn,nor a \Iorc EgaliurianSocLety). Ha)dcns blueprint enconrpassed programand a proposalfor ph!sicaldcsign.Shedescribed hnothcricdl HO\rES groupmadcup of lbrr householdseprescntinghc actualconrposjrjonof Amcricln householdsn l9ll0: l5 tcrccnt singleparenrsandthcir children, +0percent $,o-ilorkcrcoLrples nd their chjldrcn,35 perceDt ne{vorker ouples nd their children,and l0 pcrcentsingle esidents. hc total popuhtion$olrld consjstof si\ty-nineadultsand sixtv our children.A HO\{tlS communltywould combjDe ollcdiv nrsullationsrrith priiatedwellings ndoutdoof paces. hesharcdnctiviliesndspaces ,ouid fcludc:r da! clfe centerra laundromaL; kitchensupplvingake out mcals.neals i,rthe elderly, nd unches i,rthedaycarcccntcr:a lbod cooperative'ith groccrv; gafugewirh ts'ovans ordistributionofmealsand ransportation;arden llotmentstbr thc growhgof find; anda hoi,c hch o11ice. ll services ,ouldbc mn like businesses railablc o custornersn additionro rbcmcmbcrsof the community. losi imporlant rn her schemewashcr calculattunhat the collectjvc cti!itics$ould genefare r caslthirl), seyenjobstr rheresidcnG.Haydenconsideredhc rcmodeling f the eristingsubL$ ro te! higherprioriq than rhc constructi{)n f nes rcsidcnli.ldevelop-ments.To clTcct his ranslirmatnrn, heproposcdtheeplacenrenrof singlehomcs' ront hwns $irbout side$alkswilh buildingaddi-tnnrs o obtajn nultipleunits.Ancillart'stru turcssuchasporches,garages.nd ool shcds louid beconvertedocommunityfacilirjes.and rhc ccnterol ihe hl,,ckwouldbc rurncd nro a shared arklikcopcn space. By turningthe blocl insideout and pooling :nd,rhe duplicati(Dof anrenitjcs nd cqripmerl characteristic f sulr,urbancommuritiescould be avoidcd: here'yolld be no nccd rohayesix nllatablesvinrmingpools, cn garclenheds, nd thincen


6/10

hrur nouerselongingo ndnidualousesna btockvhcn ncol each f rheapproprijteizc nd ype hould ufticcRace ndClasstTwo epresseds5uesDrspnrate s thcy arc. these u,o comnunjt ics_one actual . he,,thcr imagined-share sonre nfortanr srrengthsanil u,calocsses.Thc eas informing borh plans emerged from acjdemjc envrron_Dcnls rathef drnn mafkering srudlesor socinl suneys and thus re_:lLtt moc dre ideology and ralue sysLemsol thcjr crcarors than:rc crprcssedclcsiresof thc potcnrial cnd-users $.nrcn are mo.erkclr to be nrore complicared and contradjcLorr.Itoth plans \i.ere.oncel'cd as comticre enrjtiesand fro$i:rcd as alrernarives o sub,rbrn qxml,{nd lx,th pmposats gno.e the politicii conrplexiry: \at is cmbedded irr real urban comlnunjrics, esfecially the intrac:-,l,leditliculrr of inlegratnrsunduc.rted.poor, and mostly Atrican\rnerjcan or Ilispanic hotrseholdswirhjn or in close troximity ro:..rdominanrly s4rire middle class neighborhoods.Erclusivc resi.:tnti.ri singlc-tarnih zoning is eschcwed n hvor ofncighborhoods,r n errJrehr, i ( \ r \ i .e. Jnr. l ropl , rner.r l r inu.r l I r rsdr.r"n.co- r \ In horh ' . . . " . \ " rpd p rhl ( . n, UI i . .nr r \ m.rdc Iar. n" r , , r r l r , . ,orrmLri r \ " t r \ , , rp l r In \cr \ Jr i r l nr q.rr . .\ r l l en r l rc,r - r l . . r r r r . , .*a.e ( , rcb, rnn \ r lJ ipe , ik, , , h. ,\l)s 's I priv.te, for-profit devcl


7/10

40

CclL.atn,niillagc epresentshc bighend of aconsumerbasedn.del f


8/10

dcntialdeveloprnent,eveiopers avebeenaltowed o avoid henrepr"r inn r*umcd rn rhr. rrqui) ,mcnrbr rransterr jns,hclroruaDteomesrrorhrrcommunrr ie{,Thc.rnrrodu.iunof.uburbrnparrerns,, rbur ld er"yedurban'..DIchd, re,eivrdm;\ed e\ eu,. "nd rh, e i , no r onclusn eridencc har suburbanitesavcchosen o movero rbeseneighbor,hoodsrn Detroit, or example,vhere his parternhasbeen ried,rhec-{treme,acia anddassseg.egationerweenhe blackcityand,tswhitesuburbss, n cl{ect, eproduced n a smalcr scalewithinrhecjty bonndaries..tts not suryfising,hcn, thar rhesedevelop_aei ' r ! drc \epJ,drcJrom,urrounding eighbo,hood,) J hr;h,rn.{ dld d gJre.The.Fn. ighborhood,pp(ar u J,rra(r drpr l_T nJ,d pFople lrcadyiving n rhe r n {trhough heir ,r" te rr' r1rr 'd.o hdrpropn.cLlor he to\4 t- ncigh6,rhoud.hegatedrubrrbanpauernuseddoes ittle to pro,ide the kindsof choicestrndpfoximity o se icesenvisionedn that model.l1 lc80 Dolore,Hd\den.rhoughrrpcr imentrar ,cdr . ,uerrharth, \"u t rbani t r hae ,o farman"g.d o ",ord. rh. Ncu Urb.rnis'ns to becomeml1,urban, argerproblemsndmoredjversepopulations il l need o be addressed. therreplicable rbanpacre.nsmust be created o counterbalancehc visionof encapslr-l.rredcommunitics har epitomizeNerv Urbanist'designs.hesepatterns houldprovidcsolutionso the problernofhow to designqoodedges nd pointsof conract, o haradjacencreserween it-r ' "nr Ind, of communire. "n hdptrn urrhour a , gare,or

Where adical hinkingof urbandesigns mosturgently eededs_ nroughoutour ciries,seen n their specific egion:]contexts.lhe necessaryllies of a truly new urbanlsrnwi be communiryr.ganizationsnd coalitions, onprofitdevelopers,oliricians, ndrgenciesather hancommcrcial evelopers.

L Sce Gerda Wekene, .Women in the Urban Environment,,,\ga, lotmol aJ W.nen in C,Iture und Societt 5: i SupplemenrSpring 980): 188 2t4.. 2 Robert Fishnan has argued hat the suburbs,growthhas re-:uhed in a new knd of.iry, which he catls 'technoburb,,,where borh

-dldnJr* id!me

"rc. nnr" incdl$ i rh,n" . ,ngre F(enr,dt i lcd nrn r-nr dnd hc .rnple- l rmrl \bo-s" * d. onr"r icnrbr.e tromwhi(hrnh spouses an npidty rerch thetrjobs.,,SeeRoberrFishman,Bo,/.:atr U,opia (NewYofk tsasicBooks,1989).,1. SeeWekerle, Women in the Urb.n Environnent,,, or relevanr:rbliosraphyon rhjs subjecr.Expandingthe


9/10

42

.1. See Karcn Hapgood nd Judirh Ccrzels, eds., \\bwn, p1411nine, dnd Change chicago: Ameri.an Societyof plannhg Ofli.ials.1974) .5. lor amlysis ol Nc'! Urbanisr plannnrgprincipies,see IIcidiLandeckcr, ls Ne$ urbnnism Good orAnrenca) /, l hile.ture \.\pll1996) and $rilljan frulLon,Ttp Netr, U.bnnbn: Hope ar H.\pefutAnen.a Co qnunnjes7 Canbridge, 'lass.:Lincoin hrsrirureofLanJ

Policy,199O.6. SeeFullon,N'a, Urla,tsn, p.3.7. lle tonn of Celebration,Florida,consisrs f sevg.l Deighborhoods.CelcbralionVillage r the onlyone wheredifteren! ot t\Desarcconbned. ldjoining and sate ite nejghh.,rhoods re b.sed on otdcrsubu.ban avouts, ncludingneighborhoods egrcgatedy ot tvpeand.in North Village, D eDclave l sratelyhomeson lanes endins n cul-il . Hone bul$s can selecr rom a rangeol nineteenthccnruryjnspifed archjrccluralstyles,such as Coloni.rl or Vjctoriah, thar are

approved y l)isncy for the diftcrent ot rpes.9. I har bascdmy cal.ulationson the areacncompa$ed n Cele-bralion Realtv! "Sitc PlaD. Celehrutjon Village, Vest Vitlagc. Laketlalln." 1995(Walt DisnevCompany).Fuhon, Ner, Urlar,rsfl, sr.testhat the entire owr ol Celebrationqillcomprise,+,900acresand ishtthous.rnd esidentialunits.10. The lot t)?c not in.llrded, called Garden," s for smallcottagesof the tlpe found in earlyAmericansrburbs. This suggests,ronically,tha! lhe Dejghborhood fcarden Conages s a kind ofsuburh ofCele-brationVillage.ll. Resardingacon!ro!ersyocuscdon Celebration's ublic school,see rlichacl PollaD.DisnevDBcoveB RcalLife,"lhe Nrrlbrft,lacs,'llaga:i,", Dccenrber ,l, 1997.12. DoloresHayden. \{hdt $/ould a Non-SexislCiry Be Litc)sisns: loturnol af wabe| ;n Cubute untl society 5:3 supptehcnr(sPrnrg980)rsl7087.13. H aydcn cknorlledgcsher debt to IlcnrvWdghr and ClarenccSteins plan fo. Radburn. NcN Je6ev. Regardxlgse^jccs. \Vekerle,"\Vomen jn thc Urban Environment,' desoilrer a proposalby NonaClazer. Linda Nlajka,loan Ackef, .nd Chrisline Bose lbr federallvlu-,1, ershl ,orhuudF^i. ( huu.F. l plcr ' , luu d i r ignrr r , nr h :lhe connnDnityrlas held rcsponsible or slpporting pcople in rheirddlv ftrnctioning,not ust cmergencies.1.1.Accordidsto the l{arch 1996 'Currchr PopulationSuNev" ofthc U.S. BureaLof the Census. he t995 nedian income ot rll households n the Unitcd Stateswas 93.1,076;br all while, non ttirpanichouseholds.37,178;or b iack ouseholds,22,3e3.15. For a curcnt perspecrilc,seeEiizabethN'lccuire,"Sdll Seeking u Per{ect }ahnce, Nar }brATnres, op ed, August I 1. 1998.16. For a challcnge o tr-.elv rbanism regarding egionalscale ndconrexr,see Armando Carbonell, Harv l)odson, and Robert yaro,


10/10

"Expandingthe Ahwanee Pnnciples for the New Regionalisn," a1995self-published tatenent. HarveyCantt, a. architect and ormerrnayorof Charlotte, North Carolina,also ssueda challenge n his ple-naryspeecho the 1998Congressor New Urbanisn: o addresshesurvivalof neiglborhoods n the city, wherepoorer,no ,vhitepopula-tions arc concentrated.

ExpandingtheUtbanD6ign Agenda43

expanding the urban design agenda: a critique of the new urbanism

Documents