Thursday, April 5, 2007

Random Thoughts




This blogger has completed ten blogging entries which included an introductory statement, planning staff organizations, genealogy and planning, a travelogue, European contributions, terminology explanations, and other matters. Since this is an evolving work, there are gaps in the presentation. This blog will hopefully try to plug up a few of the holes in order to pursue better suburban planning results. (Picture cited on the web at www.bsu.edu/classes/ruch/msa/tansey.html.)

Howard Kunstler decries about the places of today which are currently masquerading as livable units; however in reality they are indistinguishable from each other with “everyplace is like no place in particular, where the city is a dead zone and the countryside a wasteland of cars and blacktop.” (Cited in Kunstler’s Geography of Nowhere, jacket page.) . Our goal will be to establish practices to avoid these cookie cutter approaches and yet be environmentally, socially, and economically sound.

Laura Miller from the University of California at San Diego notes “the suburban ideal is about finding a homogeneous community of like-minded people, about living in a home which provides comfort and diversion, and quite centrally, about finding an environment in which family ties can be strengthened.: Although the geography of suburbia promotes togetherness, it does so at a cost of suburban sprawl which “has done away with the site for socializing.” Consequently there is a decided lack of public spaces –sidewalks, squares, taverns, central shopping districts, etc.—where non-family members gather” which further isolates the suburbs and breaks down the integration of the community. (Cited in Laura Miller’s paper entitled “Family Fun in the Suburbs: Family Togetherness and the Suburban Ideal”, pages 1-41.)

This blogger has noticed from personal observations that not only are each suburban community surrounded by an “invisible moat” but so are many of the residential homes. This way of life and individual mind set will be difficult to change. As a child, this blogger remembers playing a lot of impromptu sports, today everything is organized with a rigid schedule. The Days of Solitaire are here unless you are a part of the rigid organizational environment.


What can be done? First, one needs to foster a new sense of togetherness and place by creating sustainability. Two, mixed use development needs to be encouraged so that people can have access to a range of facilities and options for walking to goods and services.; three, to create a sense of place that is interwoven like a piece of fabric with various patches of material in a unique pattern; four, incorporate trends in telecommunications, home occupations, decentralized businesses, and other aspects of cyberspace; five, minimize the environmental problems caused by trash disposal, air and water pollution; six manage the use of our natural resources by using hybrid vehicles, green buildings, recycling programs, and stormwater management techniques.(Pictures cited on the web at ---http//www.terrain.org/articles/13/superbia.htm. Picture on the left depicts:"The transition to Superbia! might include clustered parking to save space and get cars out of peoples' way; greater use of solar energy; community gardens; and a Common House, cooperatively owned by neighbors.")

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