We present the TPJ essay “Reconfronting Sprawl: Still Paved with Good Intentions as Well as Asphalt” by Doug Kelbaugh. This essay draws from the author’s recently published book The Urban Fix: Resilient Cities in the War against Climate Change, Heat Islands and Overpopulation (2019). Kelbaugh has researched, taught, and written about American sprawl for over thirty years.
Lastly, we share information from The Well-Tempered City (2017).
>> We encourage you to browse The Plan Journal and explore for yourself
The scale and repetitiveness of suburban sprawl are well documented. Originally endless cul-de-sac subdivisions - like the two above - suburbia has evolved into what Rem Koolhaas’ describes as “a bland suburban environment that is becoming increasingly exclusive, its tech bubbles insulated from the public sphere.” Retrieved from James Brasuell, “A Dissenting Take on Smart Cities from Rem Koolhaas,” Planetizen (November 26, 2014), https://www.planetizen.com/node/72518.
In the essay “Reconfronting Sprawl: Still Paved with Good Intentions as Well as Asphalt,” the author Doug Kelbaugh warns:
“Over half of American homes are single-family dwellings – 69 million out of a total of 132 million. The fatal flaw is that these positive intentions quickly led to very high energy/carbon/ecological footprints per suburbanite – a challenge that is difficult because of extensive, indelible infrastructure. Densifying arterial strips, inserting transit, redeveloping a walkable, bikeable, mixed-use, and human-scaled urbanity is as urgent as it is essential in the nation’s effort to combat climate change.”
The scale and repetitiveness of suburban sprawl are well documented. Originally endless cul-de-sac subdivisions - like the two above - suburbia has evolved into what Rem Koolhaas’ describes as “a bland suburban environment that is becoming increasingly exclusive, its tech bubbles insulated from the public sphere.” Retrieved from James Brasuell, “A Dissenting Take on Smart Cities from Rem Koolhaas,” Planetizen (November 26, 2014), https://www.planetizen.com/node/72518.
The American suburb, while well intended, has overall failed. Not only are there maintenance issues, but urban sprawl is extremely expensive to build. We need to adopt a paradigm shift in order to address climate change as responsible urban design planners.
We thank the author!
Douglas S. Kelbaugh is Professor and former Dean at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.
>> Kelbaugh’s abstract is available in THE PLAN Journal vol. 4/2019, no. 1
In “Reconfronting Sprawl: Still Paved with Good Intentions as Well as Asphalt,” Douglas S. Kelbaugh references the book The Well-Tempered City written by Jonathan F. P. Rose. In his book, Rose argues that well-tempered cities can be impregnated with systems that promote adaptability, equality, and well-being. Rose insists that if we reach for these goals, our cities will be more prosperous and livelier.
English
480 pages
Harper Wave
September 12, 2017
ISBN-10: 0062234730
ISBN-13: 9870062234735
To learn more, check out: The Well-Tempered City
Jonathan F. P. Rose is an Executive in Residence at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford in England.
“Reconfronting Sprawl: Still Paved with Good Intentions as Well as Asphalt” by Douglas S. Kelbaugh and The Well-Tempered City written by Jonathan F. P. Rose provide the reader with a wealth of knowledge regarding urbanism. Explore to learn more!
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