By Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and
Jeff Speck
Presentation by Gabe Vermund, Liz Davis, & Jordan Smith
1)
3)
Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk is
the dean of The University
of Miami’s School of
Architecture where she
teaches. She is also a
founder and emeritus
board member of the
Congress for New
Urbanism.
2)
Andres Duany got his undergraduate
degree in architecture and urban
planning from Princeton and his master’s
in architecture from Princeton. He is a cofounder of Duany-Plater Zyberk and
Company.
Jeff Speck is a city
planner and
architectural designer
who worked with DPZ
as director of town
planning for 10 years.
He created the
Governor’s Institute on
Community Planning
which helps state
governors fight
suburban sprawl.
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Thesis
What is Sprawl and History of Sprawl
Problems Associated with Sprawl
Components of Traditional Neighborhood
Design
Advantages to Traditional Neighborhood
Developments
Proposals
Conclusion
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Traditional neighborhoods lead to better
communities and ultimately, better lives for
those within.
“No more housing subdivisions!
No more shopping centers!
No more office parks!
No more highways!
Neighborhoods or nothing!” (243)
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Housing Subdivisions
Shopping Centers
Office Parks
Civic Buildings
Roadways
4)
5)
Housing subdivisions, one major
component of sprawl, are often
characterized by looping roads that do not
follow a single cardinal direction and
pockmarked by the cul-de-sac, originally a
tool used to cut down through traffic.
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7)
Housing
Subdivisions
Shopping
Centers
Office Parks
Civic Buildings
Roadways
6)
The mall and the shopping
center are both mainstays of
suburban sprawl, requiring
seas of parking spaces, since
they are largely unreachable by
foot.
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Housing
Subdivisions
Shopping Centers
Office Parks
Civic Buildings
Roadways
8)
9)
Office parks are another essential component in suburban sprawl. Since mixed-use
zoning is often not allow, offices are forced to stand alone. Directly above, workers
coming to the Denver Tech Center causes many traffic jams on I-25 throughout the
work day.
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11)
Housing Subdivisions
Shopping Centers
Office Parks
Civic Buildings
Roadways
10)
Civic institutions
hold anonymous
positions in
suburban sprawl.
Above, the Bellaire
Public Library has no
clear distinguishing
features. To the left,
a high school drowns
in a sea of parking.
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Housing
Subdivisions
Shopping
Centers
Office Parks
Civic Buildings
Roadways
9)
Above, Toronto’s Highway 401 is estimated to carry 50%
of vehicles heading to downtown Toronto (according to a
1983 study of the system). In a suburban sprawl system,
highways and roadways are necessary if anyone is to
travel.
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Federal Housing
Administration
(FHA)
Veteran’s
Administration
(VA)
Red Scare Streets
Poisonous
Industries
Levittown
12)
Levittown, NY was one of the original subdivisions.
Created by the Levitt and Sons firm and racially
exclusive by covenant, Levittown came to represent
the stereotypical suburb.
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Collector Roads
11)
Collins Road, in Marion, IA illustrates many of the points that PlaterZyberk, Duany, and Speck make about auto-dependency. The stores are
close together, while still separated by large parking lots and pedestrianunfriendly streets.
16)
15)
To the left: Chicago’s main highways,
with the exception of one, all seem to
run straight through sections of the
city with large minorities. Above: car
wrecks and traffic jams are to be
expected in suburban sprawl.
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Gated
Communities
and Economic
Enclaves
No mixed-use
zoning
17)
18)
While communities with literal gates around them
are common in the sprawl-infected landscape,
even more prevalent is the economic segregation
by block. Certain blocks may only have houses of
a certain cost, separating even the middle-class
into groups.
19)
The elderly are often
victims in suburbia,
trapped within their
own homes or sent
off to nursing homes
(such as the one on
the right) as soon as
their eyesight
prevents them from
driving.
20)
Children lose their mobility
in a sprawling landscape,
forced to rely on soccer
moms (another oppressed
class) until they obtain a
driver’s license. Also, large,
impersonal schools such as
the one at the left are a
natural by-product of the
strict residential zoning.
21)
22)
Above and to the left: sprawl’s necessary concentration of commercial enterprises,
such as fast-food, tends to blight the environment with neon signs. To the right:
originally conceived to allow Americans to get out and see nature, as in Robert
Moses’ vision for New York, now the tangled highway system only affords miles
and miles of bleak pavement for the driver’s viewing pleasure.
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The Center
The Five-Minute
Walk
The Street Network
Narrow, Versatile
Streets
Mixed Use
Special Sites for
Special Buildings
23)
A pedestrian-friendly town center not only creates
space for unique community events, but also
encourages locally owned stores and gives an
incentive to work and live within town.
24)
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When blocks are zoned so that residences are
within walking distance of offices and
shopping, dependency on cars is removed
and community can thrive as formerly
private spaces become public.
The Center
The Five-Minute Walk
The Street Network
Narrow, Versatile Streets
Mixed Use
Special Sites for Special
Buildings
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The Center
The Five-Minute Walk
The Street Network
Narrow, Versatile
Streets
Mixed Use
Special Sites for Special
Buildings
25)
Grid street patterns in traditional
neighborhoods allow for adjustment
of path in heavy traffic.
26)
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The Center
The Five-Minute Walk
The Street Network
Narrow, Versatile
Streets
Mixed Use
Special Sites for Special
Buildings
When a street is narrow, drivers feel less
comfortable going at high speeds, making
the sidewalk safer for pedestrians.
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The Center
The Five-Minute Walk
The Street Network
Narrow, Versatile
Streets
Mixed Use
Special Sites for
Special Buildings
27)
Mixed-use zoning, a practice largely outlawed by
new zoning laws, makes it possible for a person to
live, work, and shop all in the same place, as
illustrated in this grocery store housed in an
apartment complex.
28)
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The Center
The Five-Minute Walk
The Street Network
Narrow, Versatile
Streets
Mixed Use
Special Sites for
Special Buildings
In a traditional neighborhood, civic
institutions such as schools,
libraries, and town halls are set
apart to create a memorable space.
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Community
Economic
Incentives for
Developers
Better Schools
Safety
Decreased need for
automobiles
29)
Traditional neighborhood developments such as
this one in Kentlands, MD sell well because of their
community and all that it can offer.
- Government Action:
“In sum: the federal government is distant, local
government is myopic, and regional
government is lacking. In this context, state
government is best able to promote regional
planning.” (233)
-Architecture Concerns: Modernist vs. Traditional
-The “Armchair Urbanist”: How the average
citizen can get involved
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30)
Take home lesson: Blow up the highways.
Criticisms: Idealism vs. Realism
Criticisms: Blatant Advertisement
31)
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