Sustainable Land Development Today - July/August 2008 - (Page 18) MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT By Dave Clinger It’s Not How DENSE You Make It, It’s How You Make It DENSE Tri-plex Mansion Home Exterior The Suburban Shift: From auto-dependent sprawl, to mixed-use, sustainable, higher density, walkable neighborhoods. These are troubled times for developers who invested in suburban land. Rather than sit this one out and wait for the market to turn around, it may be time to rethink and redesign a portion of your conventional subdivision layouts to a mixed-use, higher density, sustainable walkable village. Other options are being considered by astute “Smart-Growth” builders and developers. Creating compact neighborhoods within our cities, redeveloping infill sites, or creating high-density mixed-use projects at rail stations are timely alternatives to the conventional suburban subdivision model. These concepts may solve some of our high energy costs. They will reduce the impact of the automobile on our lives and create places to live where we get to know our neighbors. Compact, sustainable, walkable neighborhoods will also reduce sprawl and housing costs, creating long term values for residents and cities. European Village model. As cities grew the downtown center continued to be the focal point for development and various homes, townhomes and apartments were built close to these centers. After World War II, returning military personnel and their families set up shop in suburbia. The suburban model was encouraged by Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs’ subdivision codes which promoted and featured single-family homes centered on standard sized lots and served by wide streets to accommodate the increased use and parking required for automobiles. The Interstate system continued this trend of auto-dependent, suburban-tract developments, which sprang up all over the country. With the cheap price of land, gas, and the predominant need for more bedrooms, this model shaped how most families lived in the United States from the late 40s through the 90s. Low-density tract developments gobbled up farms and forest land, creating a model that was criticized by urban planners but was loved by most Americans. As more and more land was consumed, traffic jams increased. The suburbantract layout created an auto-dependent lifestyle (10-12 average daily trips per home) which generated constant congestion. Air quality, pollution of watersheds and reduction of open space became a concern. After the Savings and Loan crisis, a slow shift from suburbia to urban infill began, but the exurbia model still dominated new development in the United States. A typical example of this slow shift began to occur in the Denver-metro area. Redevelopment of Lodo in downtown Denver began to attract residents who wanted to live closer to work, shopping and play. The redevelopment of the old Lowry Air Force Base and the Stapleton Airport site, which featured “New Urbanism,” became the new “hip” place to live. Cherry Creek, a close-in mix of townhomes, condos and apartments began to evolve next to an upscale regional shopping mall. Cherry Creek North with its quaint shops and restaurants attracted suburbanites who traded in their long commute for a “Walkable Village” lifestyle. Today the average price of these units approaches $1,000 per square foot. A look back When this country was first settled, our forefathers created compact villages. These settlements were designed around town squares. Most of the homes were located within walking distance to the village center which became the focal point where residents met, shopped, worked and worshipped. These settlements were a repeat of the compact 18 July/August 2008 Sustainable Land Development Today
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