Robert Steuteville in Better! Cities & Towns:
Arthur C. Nelson in Reshaping Metropolitan America made the demographic case that redevelopment of low-density commercial buildings – largely in the suburbs — could meet all of the US new housing needs in the coming decades.
Here’s why the postwar suburbs are good candidates for repair:
• Better connectivity.
• Narrower, more walkable streets.
• Closer to downtown.
• Inclusion of low-value commercial strips.
• Rich in small-lot housing.
• Demographic appeal.
• They are everywhere.
• Incremental development opportunities.
• Potential for combining suburban and urban qualities.
• Existing assets.
• On-street parking.
Get the details here, with some form-based suggestions on how to do it.
You may have noticed there are only 11 reasons. The 12th is for some of you to suggest.
What do the abolition of slavery, full citizenship for women and the reinvention of suburbia have in common? Each was an overdue transition of restoring freedom to individuals. All were opposed by the social and economic status quo forces Symbolically suburbia is today what cotton fields were hundreds of years ago. Are there cotton fields today? Yes but the way they are managed, designed and their function has been fundamentally changed. This discussion is critically important.