From Death & Life to Retrofitting Suburbia

Fifty years ago Jane Jacobs published her now-classic The Death and Life of Great American Cities.  Her book was a criticism of the Urban Renewal policies she observed in the 1950s.  Unfortunately too few paid any attention to her observations until it was too late.  Inner cities were gutted and suburban sprawl has leapfrogged way beyond anything sustainable.  Jacobs’ book offers little t0 help us  in the 21st century.

In the last 50 years we’ve had various planning trends & terms:

“There’s a 15- to 20-year cycle on urban planning terms,” says Robert Lang, urban sociologist at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. “Remember ‘urban renewal’? Smart growth is near the end of its shelf life.” (USA Today : Will ‘intelligent cities’ put an end to suburban sprawl?)

I’m betting on “retrofitting suburbia” as a lasting planning process for the next 25-40 years.  In April 2009 I did a book review on a new volume: Book Review: Retrofitting Suburbia, Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs. The book is $75  and worth every penny (Left Bank Books).  Unfortunately neither the St. Louis or St. Louis County library systems have this excellent book.

In January 2010 co-author Ellen Dunham-Jones presented an excellent TED Talk on the subject.  In 20 minutes you can get, for free, the basic concepts presented in the book.  Please take time to watch all 20 minutes.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_uTsrxfYWQ

I’m excited about gradually building on parking lots, densifying corridors, daylighting creeks, and restoring wetland areas.  This retrofitting should be applied to the suburbanized parts of the City of St. Louis as well the rings of suburbs around the city.

Dunham-Jones says:

“The growing number of empty and under-performing, especially retail sites, throughout suburbia gives us actually a tremendous opportunity to take our least sustainable landscapes right now and convert them into more sustainable places.”

Agreed!  The St. Louis region must begin planning for the future now, if we wait our jobs and economy will suffer.  I have a framed picture of the cover of Death & Life next to my desk because it is such an important book.  I may need to frame the cover of Retrofitting Suburbia as well.

– Steve Patterson

Another Reason Corner Curb Ramps Don’t Work Well

Pedestrians generally walk in a straight line, stepping over curbs as necessary to keep going in the same direction.

People pushing strollers, or using wheelchairs, have to go not in a straight line, but where the curb ramp is placed. Ideally ramps would be located where we could also continue in a straight line.

But most St. Louis intersections place curb ramps, not in the natural line of travel, but at the apex of the corner. On a standard intersection of two streets at a 90° angle the corner ramp does save money by requiring fewer ramps – four rather than eight.  The problem however, is the corner ramp has become the local default, even when it makes no sense to do so.

The example above is one where placing the curb ramps at the corners makes no sense at all. There is no opportunity to cross Washington Ave from either curb, the only direction to travel is straight ahead.  Most of the year it is just annoying that I’m forced nearly into the nearby vehicle lane.  When there is snow in the way I’m forced to go off the edge of the ramp and through some of the snow.

At other intersections I neatly got stuck because my line of travel was beyond the worn path of able bodied pedestrians.  The corner ramp is marginally acceptable when you have two crosswalks meeting at a single point.  The above ramps should have been constructed to permit a straight line of travel.  The cost would have been the same, maybe even less because a ramp is less complex in a straight curb as opposed to on a corner.

– Steve Patterson

Gee, Why No Pedestrians?

Looking at the intersection of 8th & Walnut St it is easy to see why the sidewalks are so empty. Blanks walls, no street trees.  Dead zone extraordinaire. Eventually the former Bowling Hall of Fame (far side) will be razed once Ballpark Village is completed.  That could be 5-10 years away at the current rate.  Will the replacement be any better? The garage destroys the corner anyway.

– Steve Patterson

Historic Urban School to be Razed for Parking & Playground

The old Hodgen Elementary School at California & Henrietta is to be razed, the exact date is unknown.  Yesterday I had to admit to two friends, when they asked my opinion,  I was behind on my reading.

The Post-Dispatch had the story on January 27th but the demo was one sentence: “The old Hodgen School will be demolished to make way for more playground and parking at the newer Hodgen Elementary School on California Avenue.” Michael Allen posted on the school later that day.

I keep hoping we are beyond razing our great urban fabric for parking.  The new school is tolerable only because of the existence of the old school.

Further reading & great photos:

• Preservation Research Office
• St. Louis Patina

– Steve Patterson

Parking Garage Contributes to Dead Zone

Continuing my look at the vast dead pocket of downtown St. Louis that is north of Washington Ave and west of the convention center.  Last week I looked at buildings at 10th & Convention Plaza (formerly Delmar).  See posts from Tuesday & Friday.

The blocks between Lucas Ave and Cole St are an unfriendly zone between the residential neighborhood north of Cole and the improving core of downtown. This garage is the only structure on the block bounded by 9th on the east, Martin Luther King Dr on the south, 10th on the west & Cole  on the north (aerial)

Cities can handle poor planning here and there, but multi-block areas just can’t be absorbed.  These must be redone.  That doesn’t mean raze everything within the area and start over, just take a close look at the area and plan for fixes to the problems.  Changes to zoning & sign codes would eventually improve the area.

I suggest a detailed look and the issues in the small area bounded by th, Lucas Ave, Hadley & Cole.  Both sides of the boundary streets would be included in the evaluation because the blank wall of the convention center along 9th is dreadful.  A larger downtown plan can’t address this area at the level of detail it needs.

– Steve Patterson