I’m strongly opposed to the development of suburbs, and here are just a few of the reason:
- Creates an over dependence on the automobile, on a macro level
- Helps encourage a stagnant mono culture run by only major corporate franchises
- People are unable to walk to library or other community educational center
On of my friends, Aaron, was aware of these opinions of mine and sent me a website that is hosting a competition on how to re design the suburbs of America. Here are the finalist.
And here is the about page of REBURBIA:
Dwell Magazine and Inhabitat.com are pleased to announce the first ever Reburbia competition: a design competition dedicated to re-envisioning the suburbs.
With the current housing crisis, the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, and rising energy costs, the future of suburbia looks bleak. Suburban communities in central California, Arizona and Florida are desolate and decaying, with for sale and foreclosure signs dotting many lawns. According to the US Census, about 90% of all metropolitan growth occurred in suburban communities in the last ten years. Urbanites who loathe the freeways, big box stores and bland aesthetics stereotypical of suburbia may secretly root for the end of sprawl, but demographic trends indicate that exurban growth is still on the rise.
In a future where limited natural resources will force us to find better solutions for density and efficiency, what will become of the cul-de-sacs, cookie-cutter tract houses and generic strip malls that have long upheld the diffuse infrastructure of suburbia? How can we redirect these existing spaces to promote sustainability, walkability, and community? It’s a problem that demands a visionary design solution and we want you to create the vision!
Calling all future-forward architects, urban designers, renegade planners and imaginative engineers:
Show us how you would re-invent the suburbs! What would a McMansion become if it weren’t a single-family dwelling? How could a vacant big box store be retrofitted for agriculture? What sort of design solutions can you come up with to facilitate car-free mobility, ‘burb-grown food, and local, renewable energy generation? We want to see how you’d design future-proof spaces and systems using the suburban structures of the present, from small-scale retrofits to large-scale restoration—the wilder the better!
The scariest thing to me about the future of the suburbs is that the government will try and support the now outdated mode of living through some type of housing bill. Here is a link to a recent press release from my own senator, Johnny Isakson (R-GA). Isakson has made his fortune through the over development of Atlanta metro houses, and now wants to try and artificially sustain the housing market through various incentives. Why try and encourage people to become in debt if they are trying to save? This is one of the underlying reasons for the weakening of the American economy and one of the major causes of this recession in the first place.
And while I’m not totally opposed to all suburbs, I think they are proportionally out of balance with the other modes of living in America.