The New Suburb July 1991

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The New Suburb July 1991 . , U.S. Department of Transportation The New Suburb July 1991 A ARTERIAL Z ovjOENSiry HousiNq * *• * • • % • • • • % * »« t ::x.x 1 ' » ' * « II" — r .«»*»•« • » — % • • • • • • • THkUROAP The New Suburb Final Report July 1991 Prepared by Harvey Rabinowitz and Edward Beimborn with Charles Mrotek, Shuming Yan, and Peter Gugliotta Center for Urban Transportation Studies and School of Architecture and Urban Planning University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201 Prepared for University Research and Training Progrann Office of Technical Assistance and Safety Urban Mass Transportation Administration Washington, D.C. 20590 DOT-T-91-12 ABSTRACT Suburban areas in the United States have undergone major changes in the last 150 years. Originally developed around improved public transportation systems, they have evolved into low density, widely dispersed areas with travel dominated by the automobile. This report provides an examination of the historical basis for the suburbs and analyzes recent trends and proposals for new suburban developments, especially as they relate to public transportation. Two groups of projects are examined. These are a group of ten 'exemplars' that represent a trend towards more concentrated development and mixed land use. Examples are given representing traditional neighborhood development, pedestrian pockets and other concepts. These examples are analyzed for the potential of transit services. Generally the proposals were found to be compatible with public transit with higher densities, concentrated demand and good pathway systems. However there are some limitations in the lack of direct transit routing, turns required, and right-of-way that could be obstacles to easy operations of transit. The second group of projects presented are entries to the suburban portion of the International City Design Competition. An analysis of over 250 entries showed a limited use of transit as part of the "vision of the future" by the entrants to the competition. Furthermore, those who use transit were generally judged to have not developed a design that used it well. Overall it appears that there are some trends in the planning and design of suburban areas that are promising for the prospects of public transit. However, the state of the art and the level of understanding of transit is limited. Much needs to be done to provide better guidance to planners, developers and local elected officials on the role of transit in land development decisions. THE NEW SUBURB: ANALYSIS AND TRENDS TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PART I: BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES A. INTRODUCTION 1 B. REDESIGNING THE SUBURB 2 C. NEW SUBURBAN PROPOSALS: AN EXAMINATION OF RECENT TRENDS AND SOLUTIONS 2 PART II: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUBURB D. REAL ESTATE AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN THE SUBURBS 4 E. NEW PATTERNS OF SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT 8 PART HI: EXAMPLES AND ANALYSIS OF NEW SUBURBAN SOLUTIONS F. NEW SUBURBAN PROJECTS: THE DEVELOPERS APPROACH 11 G. METHODOLOGY AND CRITERIA 12 H. ANALYSIS OF NEW SUBURBAN PROJECTS 16 I. ICDC COMPETITIONS: THE SUBURBAN EDGE 40 J. ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF ICDC SOLUTIONS 41 PART IV: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 74 APPENDIX K. SELECTED READINGS 78 L. LIST OF NEW SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENTS 81 M. DEVELOPER/DESIGNER ORGANIZATIONS 84 N. SURVEY FORM 85 THE NEW SUBURB: ANALYSIS AND TRENDS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The International City Design Competition was conducted by the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. We would like to thank all those who participated in the ICDC for their time and creative effort and their willing- ness to be challenged for the competition. The competition was made possible through the generous support of the following contributors: The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation; Wisconsin Electric Power Company; Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company; Milwaukee Foundation; Milwaukee County; Wisconsin Bell; City of Milwau- kee Wisconsin Gas and Sta-Rite Industries; State of Wisconsin; Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Company; Wisconsin Society of Architects; Time Insurance; Faison Associ- ates; Design Ans Program of the National Endowment for the Arts; WMVT-Channel 10 adn WMVS-Channel 36; The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; George A. Mitchell; John N. Schauble; and Robert A. Schultz. We would also like to thank Larry Witzling and Kris Dey of the School for their assistance on this project. We would like to thank the developers and designers who provided information on their design work. These include: Calthorpe and Associates, Duany/Plater-Zyberk and Asso- ciates, Berkus Group Architects, EDI Architects, Kettler and Scott, and Joseph Alfandre & Co. Primary authorship of this report was by Harvey Rabinowitz and Charles Mrotek, with sections of the ICDC analysis contributed by Edward Beimborn and Shuming Yan. Illustrations and layout were done by Charles Mrotek and Nancy Jaeger with contribu- tions from many of the designers and developers listed above. This report was developed under the sponsorship of a University Research and Training Grant from the Urban Mass Transportation Association of the U.S. Department of Trans- portation. The opinions expressed are those of the authors, and not necessarily those of the project sponsors. THE NEW SUBURB: ANALYSIS AND TRENDS THE NEW SUBURB: ANALYSIS AND TRENDS PART I: BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES A. Introduction In the century-and-a-half since the first suburbs appeared in America, the suburban culture has become a significant lifestyle in this country. Over one-half of the population in the United States currently lives in the suburbs, and many others aspire to live there. Most of the buildings and the majority of new construction is located in the suburbs and 65% of all households live in single family detached houses. Although the suburban lifestyle has been criticized, these concerns have not affected the popularity of this environment nor diminished the pace of suburban construction. In the 1980's, the perception of the suburb became tarnished. The number and size of suburban developments had increased considerably in the previous two decades, changing the underlying attributes of the suburbs. The great success of these suburban environments was to be, in large part, the cause of their problems. Traffic congestion, air pollution and sprawl have all come to affect the quality of suburban life. The withering of the suburban ambience, as well as the affordibility of the suburban lifestyle, has also affected the convenience, comfort, and continued growth of the suburbs. This is not yet a national phenomenon, it is specific to the high-growth areas on the East and West Coasts and much of the South, but it is also a forecast and a warning of the consequences of unplanned suburban expansion. Elsewhere, concerns about future energy availability and the affects of suburbanization on environmental quality, led to further questions about the long term viability of the suburbs in their present form, and a need to search for new directions and solutions for the future development of the suburbs. THE NEW SUBURB: ANALYSIS AND TRENDS 1 B. Redesigning the Suburb Beginning in the early 1980's, proposals for innovative physical design solutions to address suburban problems in high growth areas were initiated. By the late 1980's, the number of innovative proposals addressing suburban problems had burgeoned, many had appeared in design publications, and a few developments, based on these solutions, were under construction. Many of these proposals referred to, or included, ideas from important precedents, projects done 50 or even 100 years earlier. These earlier precedents included a pedestrian-oriented environment, conservation of the landscape, significant amenities, higher densities, and often provided mass-transit opportunities as well. Innovative solutions for suburban development have found acceptance by the development community in those areas where suburban problems are most intense. Although it is too early to judge the acceptance of these pioneering projects by the demand side of the market (the first of these projects are still under construction on the East and West coasts) conditions in these areas indicate that they may well be successful and such solutions may proliferate. C. New Suburban Proposals: An This report is an examination and analysis of recent proposals for the redesign of the suburbs Examination of Recent Trends which are relevant in planning transit-sensitive communities. It is part of a project which also and Solutions includes the development of guidelines for transit-sensitive suburban development as well as the design of prototypical suburban communities. This project has identified some 34 innovative design proposals for actual suburban developments in the United States. In addition, the investigators have had access to over 200 'visionary and credible' proposals for suburban development resulting from the Interna- tional City Design Competition (ICDC). These two resources of design proposals provide a significant source of exciting and unique work which will be valuable in identifying trends and concepts for future suburban design. 2 THE NEW SUBURB: ANALYSIS AND TRENDS Both the development projects and the ICDC proposals are based on individual circum- stances and programs. Each proposal is unique, and many do not include transit or transit- sensitive land use in their project. Notwithstanding these differences, they contain progres- sive ideas and thoughtful solutions, many of which are applicable to the design
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