Category Archives: Land use & development

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA–Leon Krier, one of the world’s leading neo-traditional architects and urban planners, finds a lot to be unhappy about what planners, architects and developers are building these days. He dislikes high-rises and skyscrapers, which he views as affronts to human scale. He detests modernist architecture, which, by sacrificing traditional forms and proportions, fills the landscape with kitsch. He loathes the use of synthetic materials, which replace natural materials rooted in local environments and cultural traditions. Vast swaths of the built environment are not only ugly and inhuman but they are built upon a foundation of the fossil-fuel economy that will collapse sooner or later.

“We have created problems for which there is no human resolution,” said Krier this morning in a keynote address to the Congress for the New Urbanism. “There is a love story and religious respect for hyper-scale. … These things are unstoppable and unreformable.”

Krier provided a pessimistic note in an otherwise forward-looking and up-beat conference. Many of his comments presupposed the audience’s familiarity with ongoing debates and schisms in the architecture/planning field and, for rustics such as myself, called out for more context. Much of his address was unbloggable.

However, one theme did emerge that I find worth illuminating. It is Krier dogma that buildings should be built to a human scale. “If I were dictator,” he said, “I would dictate that no building be more than three floors high.” Invariably, people would figure out how to get around the dictator’s rules and maybe build to four or five stories, which would be fine.

He views skyscrapers and high-rises as “vertical cul de sacs,” as egregious as the horizontal dead ends of suburbia. Skyscrapers isolate people in their buildings and limit human interaction. People arrive in cars, park in underground parking lots and ride elevators to their offices. Then they leave the same way. The streets at ground level are often empty of people.

The genius of the development style in traditional European cities — he didn’t say this, but I’m extrapolating here and drawing upon Richard Florida (see previous post) — is that they achieved a density and design that optimized human interaction. Humans are social creatures and they crave interaction, so Krier’s optimal density satisfies basic human needs. Also, the often-random encounters that occur on city streets spark new ideas that lead to innovation. Finally (borrowing from urbanist Jane Jacobs) Krier’s optimal density puts more “eyes on the street,” which reduces crime and other anti-social behavior.

Thus, if I am reading Krier correctly based on his remarks, there is an optimal level of density somewhere between what we see in American suburbs and what we find in Manhattan. To maximize peoples’ satisfaction with their surroundings and spur creativity and innovation, we should strive to build communities that achieve that optimal level of density.

– JAB

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed

Andres Duany. (Photo credit: Domus)

by James A. Bacon

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA–Since its genesis three decades or so ago, the New Urbanism movement looked to the 1920s as the golden era of urban development in the United States. City builders had adapted to the rise of the automobile as dominant transportation mode while retaining continuity with previous urban forms that emphasized walkability and human scale. But the time has come to look to a different era for inspiration, the 1870s, says Andres Duany, one of New Urbanism’s founders and intellectual leaders.

Planners, developers and designers need to adjust to the new age of economic austerity, said Duany at a plenary session of the 2012 Congress for the New Urbanism this morning. America needs to embrace “lean” development, a concept that encompasses both “green” building and sustainability and economic efficiency. New Urbanists need to create business models that allow development to occur incrementally and on a smaller scale without mega-millions in hard-to-get project financing. “The new economy is about doing things economically.”

“By our wits, we colonized a continent” in the second half of the 19th century, said Duany. Somehow, Americans managed to do it without a Department of Housing and Urban Development and without banks that bankrolled massive real estate deals. Somehow, Americans housed tens of millions of immigrants and laid out some of the country’s great cities, from Oklahoma City to Portland “out of nowhere” — cities that created so much wealth that they could support opera houses and universities.

The masters of the system, said Duany, were the Mormons. Between 1855 and 1905 they laid out 534 towns and cities, from Salt Lake City to San Diego. The Mormons were so poor then they they couldn’t afford Conestoga wagons. Yet they were brilliant managers. Not one of their towns failed. One Mormon secret was the large city block, one of the most flexible constructs in America. These urban units could be cut up into villages or they could accommodate an entire university. They were supremely adaptable and capable of evolving to meet new conditions.

In new projects he is working on, Duany said, he is looking for ways to bring down costs. Previous New Urbanism design tropes from the 1920s, such as mixed uses within a single building (retail on the ground floor, residential on the second and third floors) often are too expensive for the current economic environment. One solution is to achieve mixed use horizontally — placing flatter buildings with different uses adjacent to one another.

In other remarks, Duany defended the New Urbanism Smart Code, an open-source template for urban design originally developed by his firm, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, as an alternative to traditional zoning codes. He does not hold up the Smart Code as a universal prescription. But the country needs an alternative to the traditional zoning codes that are largely responsible for the phenomenon of suburban sprawl.

‘The default setting in America is to have a code,” Duany said. But the dominant code built around segregated land uses leads to “kitsch.” It is dysfunctional. And efforts to circumvent its rigidities, such as handing over decisions to “aesthetic committees,” can lead to arbitrary decision making. “I would rather know what the rules are than be subject to the opinions” of such committees, he said. Moreover, the United States has 27,000 planning departments. They aren’t going away. The Smart Code provides them an alternative set of rules to apply.

However, Duany acknowledged that there needs to be “code free” zones, or at least zones free from the strictures of the Smart Code. Thirty percent to 40% of the population doesn’t want to live in compact, walkable, mixed-use communities, and they shouldn’t be made to. The core principle, he said, is to give people a choice.

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed

by James A. Bacon

Pound for pound, square foot for square foot, Las Vegas packs in more glitz than any other location on earth — more than Hollywood, more than the Ginza, more than Broadway, more than Dubai. Where else can you find a world-class tourist destination built around replicas of the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, the Doge’s Palace and the Temples of Luxor, all set amidst monuments to over-the-top, steel-and-glass gargantuism? (According to Wikipedia, 15 of the world’s 25 largest hotels are located on the Strip.) Where else can you see Elton John… and Elton John imitators? What other city is jammed with Elvis impersonators and Beatle nostalgia acts? Where else would uber-magician David Copperfield make his home but the city of flash, dazzle and mirage?

The Strip contains many of the great brands in the travel and entertainment business — Caesar’s Place, the Bellagio, Harrah’s and Bally’s and so many more. While each facility is impressive on its own terms, what makes the Strip a world-class destination that sucks in people from around the world is the clustering effect. With 62,000 hotel rooms, the four-mile Strip can easily host more than 100,000 visitors at a time. Jammed together cheek-by-jowl, the massive edifices create a destination in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

One key to making the Strip unique in all the world is connectivity and walkability. You may check into one hotel but you will, most likely, spend much of your time walking from venue to venue. Thus, the pedestrian experience becomes central to the entertainment experience.

Clearly, the designers of the multibillion-dollar facilities on the Strip have given considerable attention to the issue of walkability. During a one-day visit earlier this week, my wife and managed to stroll the better part of the strip. She took in the sights and sounds while I, geek that I am, observed human settlement patterns. Because pedestrian amenities are essential to creating a sense of urban place no matter where you may live, I offer these random photographs and notes to spur thinking about walkability in your community.

Promenade along Las Vegas Boulevard in front of the Bellagio. Click photos for bigger images.

The main drag on the Strip is Las Vegas Boulevard. Getting from Point A to Point B in the Strip typically requires walking some distance along the Boulevard. The experience is uneven, the quality varying by the grandiosity of the hotel fronting the street. The Bellagio, which ranks among the more tasteful — OK, the word “taste” really doesn’t apply to anything in Vegas, so, let’s say, “less garish” — of the properties, provides a wide promenade along a large pond that periodically erupts with elaborate fountains. Trees provide shade and function as a visual barrier separating pedestrians from the street. Hidden speakers marinate the broad walkway with popular music.

Street scene along Las Vegas Boulevard.

Not every property abutting Las Vegas Boulevard is as magnificent as the Bellagio. Several islands of independent stores and restaurants line the main drag. In the street scene shown at right, you can’t make it more than 49 or 50 feet without a shady-looking guy stuffing glossy cards displaying the bountiful assets of Las Vegas “escorts” into your hands. As a walkway, however, the sidewalk serves reasonably well. Trees and a wrought-iron fence separate pedestrians from the cars, trucks and buses in the Boulevard.

Pedestrian bridge

Vegas is a typical Sunbelt city suffering under the tyranny of the traffic engineers. Planners have scoured the main boulevard of pedestrians — there literally are no crosswalks. To enable people to cross, someone (either the hotels or municipal authorities) has built a series of pedestrian bridges. The arrangement may facilitate movement of automobiles but it detracts from the pedestrian ambiance. The bridges represent a missed opportunity. They could host street peddlers, public art, music performers… something to divert or entertain those walking by. But all we saw were panhandlers, including one lout who flashed a cardboard sign begging money for whores. He may have thought he was being cheeky. My wife was not amused.

Plaza outside the Venetian. Beautiful... but empty.

Plaza at Caesar's Palace. Don't bother looking for a place to sit.

The hotels enclose most of the space available to them, resulting in a paucity of common areas. The goal, I suppose, is to capture and retain as much foot traffic as possible to maximize patronage of the hotel’s own stores, restaurants and casino. The result was an impoverishment of place. I do recall a couple of plazas but they were severely under-utilized. The biggest failing: There was nothing happening — no storefronts along the periphery, no restaurants, no activity. There was not even anywhere to sit and socialize. The plaza fronting the Venetian was visually spectacular but it did not invite pedestrian traffic. Perhaps it was just the time of day but we saw hardly anyone using it. Little better was this plaza at Caesar’s Palace. There was foot traffic because it did lead somewhere, but the space was disappointing. Despite the grandiosity of the temple-like columns, the plaza invited no one to stop, look or linger.

Most walking venues are enclosed. You can’t get anywhere without passing through vast, dimly lit halls filled with flashing, blinking slot machines. I presume the entertainment moguls know precisely what conditions will stimulate the gambling reflex. My wife tells me they pump oxygen into their gambling dens so patrons will stay awake longer while they shovel dollar bills into the slot machines. But not all was gambling gloom. The hotels do have some beautiful, well-lit spaces.

Passageway at the Venetian

I encountered one of my favorite places along a well-trodden track at the Venetian. The passageway had well defined boundaries marked by high ceilings, arches and balustrade. It was open, well let yet protected from the elements. (In Vegas, you quickly place a premium on staying in the shade.) The only drawback: There was no place to sit and enjoy the scenery. I can only presume that the hoteliers have no interest in inviting people to dawdle. God forbid that someone might choose to sit and read a book instead of casting away their money.

Solarium at the Bellagio.Notice the iron grillwork on the ledge that makes it impossible to sit.

Another spot that delighted me was a solarium-lit garden in the Bellagio. The flowers were hothouse lush. Bright parasols of orange and yellow hung from the ceiling. What a beautiful spot it would have been to read a book or chat with friends. But, as usual, there was no place to sit and relax.

Wynn Las Vegas: Stunning visuals... but don't linger.

Here is one more image worth savoring, from Wynn Las Vegas. Like so many others, this passage was visually lavish but functionally utilitarian, designed to hasten visitors from place to place rather than to linger and enjoy. The absence of chairs, tables, benches or even ledges to sit upon sends a clear message: Don’t tarry.

The Las Vegas tram

The Strip does offer alternative modes of transportation. Buses run up and down the boulevard, although they charge such exorbitant prices that only the elderly, the infirm and families with small children would pay them. There are taxis in abundance. Escalators are ubiquitous. Also, a tram service runs back and forth between three stations. But it appeared to be little used. The boarding platforms are so remote that it almost seems easier to walk the distance.

With multi-billions of dollars at their disposal, the Vegas casinos could have done a much better job of creating a sense of place where people could relax and enjoy themselves. But Vegas isn’t about relaxation. It’s geared toward frenetic activity — watching shows (we loved Cirque de Soleil’s “Mystere”), dining, drinking, shopping and, of course, gambling. In sum, Vegas is a soulless place designed to hold you upside down and shake you until every last penny falls from your pocket. I loathe the conspicuous excess and everything it stands for. But I have no doubt that we’ll be back.

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed