|
•
<br />•
<br />ronsa ,n..mnn ~
<br />- - ~ ~~ ~~,
<br />- _ ~ ~ // i
<br />^.~ ~t '~
<br />I ~ ~ ~.
<br />r----T. ~~ •~~I
<br />l .f ~,
<br />,;:•
<br />Zoning for a new master ~' ~ j~7 LJ ~J~ _ : ~ - ~ ''~'•` _
<br />plan for doNmtown South - ...
<br />Miami, Florida, called the ~~ Q • - .... ..~ I
<br />Hometown Plan, was ~ .at ,,',;•,~ _-
<br />adopted in October. AI- ~ O: - ~ - _ ~" ::" " "'' ~-
<br />though the structure of the ' ~ ~' , .
<br />existing doNmtown-a ~ '. ~" `
<br />main street at the center ,: `` , , _ .f;-„
<br />of small blocks-is tradi- ~ .•
<br />banal, the random place- ~ ~ :~ ~ _ _ a
<br />met of newer buildings, ~ ~'~ ~ •~~ ~ ~ ~~`
<br />:." ....
<br />wide roads and narrow ~ ~ G•c.~
<br />sidewalks, and a prepon- ; r "'". Y '~ , ~. .~~'° ;'
<br />-tee' _ •
<br />derance of commercial :: • ~ `~Cf • • "
<br />and parking uses have dis- % __ ~ ~ ~°
<br />couraged pedestrian use. - . _` 3~~. f (~~~
<br />The Hometown Plan ap-
<br />plies the principles of the New Urbanism to create more activity. Buildings are placed to form street spaces into public "rooms." Mbced uses, including apartmerds and ot6ces above
<br />shops, are encouraged through incentives. Sidewalks along the main street are widened and a tree canopy is restored. Parking lots are placed mid-block, and on-street parking is irt-
<br />aeased.The (failed) shopping mall fat the upper right of the inset map) is redeveloped with small blocks, a variety of builrring scales, and a town green. Impfeme~ation of the Home-
<br />town Plan is expected to occur through small development projects following a precise design code and various incentives, instead of through land use cordrols.
<br />diverse in use and population, scaled for the
<br />pedestrian, and capable of accommodating
<br />the automobile and mass transit. It must
<br />have swell-defined public realm supported
<br />by an architecture reflecting the ecology
<br />and culture of the region.
<br />Working from a fundamental belief that
<br />the act of building can make the world a bet-
<br />ter place, the participants want their plan-
<br />ning principles to influence not only single-
<br />family residential development at the fringes
<br />of metropolitan areas but also higher-density
<br />and mixed-use projects in central cities and
<br />existing suburbs.
<br />Public officials and real estate develop-
<br />ers who attended the conference in Alex-
<br />andria believe that the American public
<br />increasingly supports the New Urbanism's
<br />principles.
<br />"In many parts of the country, a funda-
<br />mental revolution is occurring in the devel-
<br />• opment indusa~y, a shift in paradigm, a shift
<br />in values toward many of these principles,"
<br />said Dan Cary, executive director of the
<br />Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council,
<br />which represents ~ 3 local governments in
<br />Florida's Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie,
<br />and Indian River counties. "I give many lec-
<br />tures to citizens groups. When I talk about
<br />the form and structure of traditional towns,
<br />I walk them through a perfect town model
<br />built in 1900 that still functions well in terms
<br />of everyday life and personal relationships.
<br />"These groups invariably get excited to
<br />the point of anger," he continued, "and de-
<br />mand to know why we have developed what
<br />we did in recent years. People have broken
<br />down in tears. They realize that what we
<br />have done in South Florida and Los Ange-
<br />les, to name two locations, is inhumane and
<br />financiaDy insupportable. And they want al-
<br />ternatives."
<br />Despite emerging public support for
<br />the New Urbanism, two growing threats
<br />could limit its long-term impact on metro-
<br />politan development.
<br />In recent years, many participants pointed
<br />out, some of the New Urbanism's planning
<br />principles have been mislabeled as "neotra-
<br />ditionalism" which has a suburban conno-
<br />tation. Thus, when discussing these new
<br />approaches to development, the press has
<br />usually focused on the secluded resort town
<br />of Seaside, Florida, and neglected dozens of
<br />11
<br />innovative projects in central cities and sub-
<br />urbs alike, creating a mistaken image in the
<br />public's mind that the new urbanism is elit-
<br />ist The term "new urbanism" is meant to re-
<br />place "neotraditionalism" and broaden the
<br />public discussion of the CNU's principles
<br />from merely single-family suburban neigh-
<br />borhoods to all development in the nation's
<br />metropolitan areas.
<br />Of equal concern to the conference's par-
<br />ticipants, some developers and architects
<br />have grafted a few of neotraditionalism's
<br />most obvious features-a front porch here,
<br />a picket fence there-onto typical suburban
<br />subdivisions and then labeled these projects
<br />"neotradirional developments."
<br />"These developers have latched onto the
<br />New Urbanism's growing success to sell sub-
<br />divisions that have no connection with these
<br />principles and do little or nothing to satisfy
<br />public demand for this more sensitive form
<br />of development," said architect Calthorpe.
<br />"As a result, the public can now buy houses
<br />in conventional suburbs styled as villages
<br />and neighborhoods, which the press pro-
<br />claims are representative of the new move-
<br />ment. This inability to discriminate between
<br />February 1994 Urban Land
<br />
|