Cars, Cars everywhere
Having to drive about 15 or 20 minutes to the nearest grocery store is a facet often associated with suburbs nowadays. If you're someone who prefers walking as your main mode of transport, don't you sometimes wish Hy-Vee wasn't a 25-minute trek from your house? Haven't you occasionally raged at your windshield that there's way too much traffic and all those clogged lanes, passing cars, and stoplights just forced you to waste 5 minutes in making a right turn...out of your neighborhood? If so, welcome to the lovely world of suburban sprawl.
Smart growth and new urbanism: what is it?
On the other hand, some people are seeing alternatives to the jumbles and weaves of overpasses that now crowd acres of land, and rows upon rows of cul-de-sacs and McMansions. One such alternative is called "smart growth". What is smart growth? In a basic sense, it's a pedestrian and people-friendly take on our current form of suburbia. In other words, streets are narrow and pedestrian-friendly and put an emphasis on walking and use of transit. Buildings have no setbacks, instead, their entrances are on street level. Landscaping and trees are highly encouraged, both for aesthetic and a practical purpose such as providing shade.
Another take on transit
In a typical suburb, a car is oftentimes required to go to even the closest of places, such as your friend's house or even the grocery store. Due to the use of wide streets and the sprawl of neighborhoods, the dependence of cars is nigh universal. Conversely, smart growth aims for an emphasis on public transit as a means of traversing longer distances. Light rail lines are a common feature in the planning of smart growth communities. What does this mean? Less dependence on cars, less car trips in general, and fewer needs for making all that jumble of concrete highway even more complex and sprawly than it already is. It also means you'll interacting with actual real live people rather than screaming at the guy who flipped you off on the ramp because of road rage.
On the spatial side of things...
Another important feature of smart growth is its use of spaaaaaaaaace. A prime of example of this spatial use is in the streets. Streets are organized as interconnected grids much like in older cities. Like older streets, they're narrower and split off into alleys. Intersection are used to discourage through traffic for safety. Wide sidewalks are placed parallel with the streets, and on-street parking is highly used here.
Squares and parks find themselves as a commonplace feature in smart growth. A public square or park allows for more social interaction and as a place for more activity to take place. Features such as boulevards, parkways, corner shops, and blocks are also present.
Squares and parks find themselves as a commonplace feature in smart growth. A public square or park allows for more social interaction and as a place for more activity to take place. Features such as boulevards, parkways, corner shops, and blocks are also present.
More preservation than just environmental
While environmental sustainability comes to mind when New Urbanism is mentioned, it's encouraged other forms of preservation as well. One of the biggest lies in preserving the history of the area. Developers who work with New Urbanism and smart growth are given incentive and even recognition to revitalize historic districts and structures.
Why was smart growth my choice of topic? It coincides with Chapter 13 in my Human Geography class, which is about urban development and patterns. One of the major issues brought up was suburban sprawl, which people like the New Urbanists are trying to find a solution to. Smart growth neighborhoods are one such solution, and it's about time we bring the social environment back into the picture along with the built and natural environments.
Sources
www.nationalgeographic.com/features/00/earthpulse/sprawl/index_flash.html
www.sitemaker.umich.edu/section007group5/what_is_"new_urbanism"_and_"smart_growth"_
www.smartgrowth.org/why.php
www.state.nj.us/state/planning/benefits.html
Video credits:
Kunstler, James. "The Tragedy of the Suburbs." TED Talks . TED Talks. ,
Monterey, California. . Lecture.
Photo credits:
http://www.lightrailnow.org/images/mil-hwy-fwy-sprawl_cnu.jpg
http://usa.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/smart-growth.jpg
http://wilderutopia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Reconnecting-America-San-Diego-Trolley.jpg
http://grist.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/urban-project-lodge-aurash-khawarzad-flickr-500.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/San_Francisco_Womens_Building.jpg
www.sitemaker.umich.edu/section007group5/what_is_"new_urbanism"_and_"smart_growth"_
www.smartgrowth.org/why.php
www.state.nj.us/state/planning/benefits.html
Video credits:
Kunstler, James. "The Tragedy of the Suburbs." TED Talks . TED Talks. ,
Monterey, California. . Lecture.
Photo credits:
http://www.lightrailnow.org/images/mil-hwy-fwy-sprawl_cnu.jpg
http://usa.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/smart-growth.jpg
http://wilderutopia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Reconnecting-America-San-Diego-Trolley.jpg
http://grist.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/urban-project-lodge-aurash-khawarzad-flickr-500.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/San_Francisco_Womens_Building.jpg