Repairing the American Metropolis: Common Place Revisited

240 Pages·2002·28.664 MB·English

by  Douglas S. Kelbaugh

REPAIRING THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS
COMMON PLACE REVISITED
A SAMUEL AND ALTHEA STROUM BOOK
REPAIRING
THE AMERICAN
METROPOLIS
DOUGLAS S. KELBAUGH
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS SEATTLE & LONDON
RepairingtheAmericanMetropolisispublishedwiththeassistanceofagrantfromthe
StroumBookFund,establishedthroughthegenerosityofSamuelandAltheaStroum.
Thewritingofthisbookwassupportedbyagrantfromthe
GrahamFoundationforAdvancedStudiesintheFineArts
Copyright©2002bytheUniversityofWashingtonPress
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
DesignbyAudreyMeyer
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedortransmitted
inanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopy,
recording, oranyinformationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermission
inwritingfromthepublisher.
ISBN0-295-98230-6(cloth:alk.paper)-ISBN0-295-98204-7(pbk. :alk.paper)
Thepaperusedinthispublicationisacid-freeandrecycledfrom10percent
post-consumerandatleast50percentpre-consumerwaste.Itmeetstheminimum
requirementsofAmericanNationalStandardforInformationSciences-Permanence
ofPaperforPrintedLibraryMaterials,ANSIZ39.48-I984.
To mymother, MargueriteTravis Kelbaugh,
whocontributed in knowing and unknowingways,
and to Don Prowler, 1950-2002
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CONTENTS
Foreword byAlex Krieger ix
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 3
1
Suburban Sprawl: Paved with Good Intentions 21
2
Critical Regionalism: An Architecture of Place 52
3
Typology: An Architecture of limits 94
4
NewUrbanism: Versus Everyday Urbanism and Post Urbanism 133
5
Public Policy: WhatWe Should DoA.S.A.P. 181
Notes 205
Bibliography 211
Index 21 7
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FOREWORD
EMARKABLY, GIVEN AMERICANS' LONGSTANDING
predilectionforretreatingfromthebuzzofurbanity,Americancitiesare
atthebeginningofthetwenty-firstcenturyexperiencingademonstra
ble renaissance. This is whatRepairingtheAmericanMetropolis is about,
andwhyitisimportant.Indeed,theuseof"metropolis"inthetitleissignificant,
evokingatoncethetraditionalideaofanimportantplaceofconcentration(which
citieshavealwaysbeen)andthemorecontemporaryimageofalargeurbanized
regionmadeupofmanyplacesbutstilldefinedby,notrecedingfrom, itsessen
tialcenter.
Amonganumberofindicatorsforanurbanrevivalisaculturalenthusiasm
for citiesthathasbeen absent, orcertainlyrare, for severalgenerations among
Americans. Ourquestfor that"goodlife,"whichsincetheGreatDepression, at
least,seemedmorereadilytobefoundawayfromthestressofcitycenters,isnow
beingsoughtbymanyawayfromthedoldrumsandcomplacenciesofsuburbia.
Morethanahalf-centuryremovedfromthemiddle-classblessingsofnewlycon
structedLevittowns,madepossiblebylow-interest,federallysponsoredmortgages
and inexpensive mobility, progress inone's personal orfamily life is no longer
souniversallyalignedwithurbanescape.
Therearenumerousfavorable trends. Urbancrimeisdown, ratherdramat
ically. Urban land values and development interests are up. The sheer scale of
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