Suburban Nation - Andres Duany [18]
The degeneration of the suburban landscape can be blamed on the fact that the current requirements for public open space, although derived from a rich and varied tradition of qualitative prescriptions, have been reduced to a set of regulations that are primarily statistical. These requirements say little about the configuration and quality of open space;r usually, the main specification is a percentage of the site area. Because there is no stipulation about its design, developers often distribute this required acreage along the houses’ backyards, in order to provide residents with a longer view. The resulting swath of green is rarely used, precisely because it feels like a backyard; to occupy it violates the privacy of the houses.
Suburban open space: residual and unused
The assumption that the residue left over after the roads and buildings are laid out can be satisfactory open space neglects the fact that people use open space in specific ways. Preserves, greenways, parks, plazas, squares, and promenades represent a regional to local hierarchy of open-space types that serve a variety of uses: nature conservation and continuity, active recreation, playgrounds for the youngest, strolling ground for the oldest, and so on. It is only by providing this full range of specific open spaces that planning authorities can ensure citizens the quality of life that their codes were originally intended to provide.
To truly improve quality of life, the planning codes must define open space with the same degree of precision and concern that they now apply to the design of parking lots. As an example, let us consider the square, as pictured here. What makes a square? It is the size of a small city block. It is surrounded by public streets lined by buildings with entries and windows, for maximum activity and visual supervision. It has trees at its edge to define the space and to provide shade on hot days, and it is sunny and open at its center for cooler days. It has paved areas for strolling and grassy areas for sports. If any of these elements were missing, then this open space could not be called a square.
Equally precise standards could be established for the full range of traditional open spaces so notably absent in conventional suburbia. Rules regarding the design of these social places should be administered by the same authority that now controls the design of parking lots, and with equal vigor. Only specific standards will produce the specific places that support specific activities. Without them, the term open space will only describe the dribble of green that is left over after the developer has finished laying out the houses.
WHY CURVING ROADS AND CUL-DE-SACS DO NOT MAKE MEMORABLE PLACES
Another detail of sprawl that merits reconsideration is its predisposition toward exclusively curvilinear streets. How did curves come to be considered the hallmark of good street design, when most of the world’s great places have streets that are primarily straight? The conventional belief that straight streets are rigid and boring holds little water when one considers Savannah, San Francisco, and any number of other places.
Traditional open space: carefully derived from proven models
The origin of the curved street can be found in those pathways across the landscape that respond to steep topography by following the undulating patterns of the land. Similarly, cul-de-sacs, those lollipop-shaped dead-end roads found throughout suburbia, derive from terrain in which steep and frequent valleys do not allow streets to connect across them. Historically, both techniques were used only where required by topography, as they limit connectivity and make smaller lots awkward to build on. Placing excessive curves and cul-de-sacs on flat land makes about as much sense as driving offroad vehicles around the