Suburban Nation - Andres Duany [73]
One wonders why more cities have not completed effective master plans, and why some cities create master plans but fail to enact them. As with the perpetuation of any patently unworkable system, the answer lies in the fact that certain powerful people benefit from the status quo. In the case of real estate permitting, the situation is clear. Most cities currently have on the books a vast collection of land-use ordinances so vague, confusing, and negotiable that few developers even try to follow them. In such an environment, the developers know that the most important design decision they can make is to retain the right attorney or planner. There is no shortage of such experts, who essentially tell developers, “I’ll get you the best deal in town.”
These consultants thrive in the swamp of unpredictability. A master plan that offers clarity is their mortal enemy, as it immediately diminishes the value of their services. When such a plan is completed, they begin to stir, warning their developer clients, “Watch out—if that plan is passed, you’ll lose your flexibility!” Eventually, the master plan is rejected, and the status quo prevails. For this reason, master plans must be enacted in principle as quickly as possible. The record still belongs to our plan for Stuart, Florida, which was presented at 4 p.m. one day and was law four hours later. Any realistic master plan will include an implementation component with a schedule for its passage.
It is natural to be cautious, even pessimistic, when addressing the subject of master plans. So many “shelf plans” have been completed—plans that do nothing but gather dust—that wise municipalities do not jump into the planning process without trepidation. Why spend the time and money, when so many plans have failed? The obvious answer to this question is to study the plans that have been successful and to find out what made them so. While it is dangerous to generalize, most successful plans seem to share two qualities: first, they were completed through a fully open, interactive, public involvement process; and second, they include a physically based urban code that was passed into law. As such, they are not dependent on the future goodwill of individuals who may not even be there in the long term.cs
Thanks to changing demographics and a strong economy, America’s cities have already begun to experience a renaissance. More and more people are finding suburbia poorly suited to their needs, especially the bored young and the non-driving old. It is not unreasonable to expect that the early years of the twenty-first century will be a time of reinvestment in our older downtown cores. As it occurs, it is essential that growth follow traditional neighborhood principles rather than being simply a higher-density version of auto-dependent sprawl. This latter outcome is by no means unlikely, since so many developers are experienced in suburban building and nothing else. It will fall to the cities to protect themselves from a watered-down future of isolated towers and parking lots. If they are successful, not only will their own citizens benefit but so will the many residents of nearby suburbia, who will again be given the opportunity to experience authentic urbanity on a regular basis.
10
HOW TO MAKE A TOWN
REASONS NOT TO, AND REASONS TO DO SO ANYWAY;
REGIONAL CONSIDERATIONS, INCLUDING MIXED USE AND
CONNECTIVITY; MAKING THE MOST OF A SITE; THE DISCIPLINE
OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD; MAKING TRANSIT WORK; STREETS,
BUILDINGS, AND PARKING; THE INEVITABLE QUESTION OF STYLE;
A NOTE FOR ARCHITECTS
To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.
—HENRY DAVID THOREAU, WALDEN (1854)
As badly as we have been shaping our built environment, we still possess the ability to do it right. The principles and techniques of true urban design may have been forgotten, but they are not lost; they can be relearned from the many wonderful older places that still exist. By emulating the past, a number of recent projects have demonstrated that designers can make new places that are as impressive