13.2. Sprawl Retrofit

Aus Pattern Language Wiki

Within the Polycentric Region, one of the most important tasks is to improve the urban quality of many suburban areas.


13 2 01 Sprawl Retrofit.jpg


Problem-statement: The existing suburban regions that are low-density, segregated by use and by population, high-consumption, fragmented and dysfunctional, represent one of the greatest land resources for the future. But the challenge of retrofitting and urbanizing these areas is enormous, with many barriers remaining.


❖ ❖ ❖


Discussion: The sprawling suburbs represent a large and growing percentage of the world’s population, particularly in countries like the USA where auto-dependent suburban development has dominated for decades.


One challenge is that existing owners are resistant to change, and political processes therefore often inhibit urbanization. But there are economic mechanisms to promote urbanization, including developing attractive new urban centers on adjacent empty land such as parking lots and unneeded right of way. Another strategy is to acquire future easements that do not go into effect for the foreseeable future, and that property owners will therefore be more willing to sell or otherwise grant permission.


Another significant barrier is the holdover of zoning codes and laws from a period when sprawling development was seen as more benign than it is now. A key challenge is that sprawling development is still very profitable, even to city bureaucracies in the form of increased fees and tax base. This means it is necessary to find ways to change the “operating system”, especially by changing the economic incentives and disincentives. For example, taxes, fees, system development charges, and other mechanisms can help to make good-quality urbanism more cost-competitive in these suburban locations.


In addition to the legal mechanisms, we must also be clear about the geometry that we wish a sprawling suburb to evolve towards. That geometry is described by other patterns in this book (400M Through Street Network, Public Space System, Walkable Streetscape, Terminated Vista, et al.). We can also describe it as a geometry of organized complexity, of diversity and inhomogeneity, where the urban fabric forms overlapping heterogeneous zones that support mixed activities and uses. The first indicator that newly-implemented legal incentives are working to “fix” the sprawling suburb is a departure from the original homogeneous urban footprint.


❖ ❖ ❖


Therefore:

Find creative ways to retrofit suburban sprawl, by creating new infill development, by re-using declining malls, empty parking lots and other under-utilized sites, and by changing old zoning laws, standards, codes and charges. Find new economic incentives and other creative mechanisms to fund good projects.


13 2 02 Sprawl Retrofit.jpg


Use Tax-Increment Financing and Land Value Capture to make good-quality urbanization more competitive, and more likely to proceed. …




¹ Several books have appeared recently with many ideas about retrofitting suburbia — for example see Dunham-Jones, E., & Williamson, J. (2008). Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban design solutions for redesigning suburbs. New York: John Wiley & Sons. For a compendium of ideas for retrofits, see Tachieva, G. (2010). Sprawl Repair Manual. Washington D.C.: Island Press. A number of design techniques are also discussed in Steil, L., Salingaros, N., and Mehaffy, M. (2008). Growing Sustainable Suburbs: An incremental strategy for retrofitting sprawl. In Haas, T. (ed.), New Urbanism and Beyond. New York: Rizzoli. Available on the Web at http://zeta.math.utsa.edu/~yxk833/suburbia.pdf



Mehaffy, M. et al. (2020). SPRAWL RETROFIT (pattern). In A New Pattern Language for Growing Regions. The Dalles: Sustasis Press. Available at https://pattern-language.wiki/.../Sprawl_Retrofit



SECTION I:

PATTERNS OF SCALE


1. REGIONAL PATTERNS

Define the large-scale spatial organization…

1.1. POLYCENTRIC REGION

1.2. BLUE-GREEN NETWORK

1.3. MOBILITY CORRIDOR

1.4. 400M THROUGH STREET NETWORK

2. URBAN PATTERNS

Establish essential urban characteristics…

2.1. WALKABLE MULTI-MOBILITY

2.2. LEVEL CITY

2.3. PUBLIC SPACE SYSTEM

2.4. BIOPHILIC URBANISM

3. STREET PATTERNS

Identify and allocate street types…

3.1. URBAN GREENWAY

3.2. MULTI-WAY BOULEVARD

3.3. AVENUE

3.4. SHARED SPACE LANE

4. NEIGHBORHOOD PATTERNS

Define neighborhood-scale elements…

4.1. STREET AS CENTER

4.2. PEDESTRIAN SANCTUARY

4.3. NEIGHBORHOOD SQUARE

4.4. NEIGHBORHOOD PARK

5. SPECIAL USE PATTERNS

Integrate unique urban elements with care…

5.1. SCHOOL CAMPUS

5.2. MARKET CENTER

5.3. INDUSTRIAL AREA

5.4. HOSPITAL

6. PUBLIC SPACE PATTERNS

Establish the character of the crucial public realm…

6.1. PLACE NETWORK

6.2. WALKABLE STREETSCAPE

6.3. MOVABLE SEATING

6.4. CAPILLARY PATHWAY

7. BLOCK AND PLOT PATTERNS

Lay out the detailed structure of property lines…

7.1. SMALL BLOCKS

7.2. PERIMETER BLOCK

7.3. SMALL PLOTS

7.4. MID-BLOCK ALLEY

8. STREETSCAPE PATTERNS

Configure the street as a welcoming place…

8.1. STREET AS ROOM

8.2. TERMINATED VISTA

8.3. STREET TREES

8.4. STREET FURNISHINGS

9. BUILDING PATTERNS

Lay out appropriate urban buildings…

9.1. PERIMETER BUILDING

9.2. ARCADE BUILDING

9.3. COURTYARD BUILDING

9.4. ROW BUILDING

10. BUILDING EDGE PATTERNS

Create interior and exterior connectivity…

10.1. INDOOR-OUTDOOR AMBIGUITY

10.2. CIRCULATION NETWORK

10.3. LAYERED ZONES

10.4. PASSAGEWAY VIEW



SECTION II:

PATTERNS OF MULTIPLE SCALE


11. GEOMETRIC PATTERNS

Build in coherent geometries at all scales…

11.1. LOCAL SYMMETRY

11.2. SMALL GROUPS OF ELEMENTS

11.3. FRACTAL PATTERN

11.4. FRAMING

12. AFFORDANCE PATTERNS

Build in user capacity to shape the environment…

12.1. HANDLES

12.2. CO-PRODUCTION

12.3. FRIENDLY SURFACES

12.4. MALLEABILITY

13. RETROFIT PATTERNS

Revitalize and improve existing urban assets …

13.1. SLUM UPGRADE

13.2. SPRAWL RETROFIT

13.3. URBAN REGENERATION

13.4. URBAN CONSOLIDATION

14. INFORMAL GROWTH PATTERNS

Accommodate “bottom-up” urban growth…

14.1. LAND TENURE

14.2. UTILITIES FIRST

14.3. DATA WITH THE PEOPLE

14.4. INCREMENTAL SELF-BUILD

15. CONSTRUCTION PATTERNS

Use the building process to enrich the result…

15.1. DESIGN-BUILD ADAPTATION

15.2. HUMAN-SCALE DETAIL

15.3. CONSTRUCTION ORNAMENT

15.4. COMPLEX MATERIALS



SECTION III:

PATTERNS OF PROCESS


16. IMPLEMENTATION TOOL PATTERNS

Use tools to achieve successful results…

16.1. FORM-BASED CODE

16.2. ENTITLEMENT STREAMLINING

16.3. NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING CENTER

16.4. COMMUNITY MOCKUP

17. PROJECT ECONOMICS PATTERNS

Create flows of money that support urban quality…

17.1. TAX-INCREMENT FINANCING

17.2. LAND VALUE CAPTURE

17.3. EXTERNALITY VALUATION

17.4. ECONOMIES OF PLACE AND DIFFERENTIATION

18. PLACE GOVERNANCE PATTERNS

Processes for making and managing places…

18.1. SUBSIDIARITY

18.2. POLYCENTRIC GOVERNANCE

18.3. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PLACE MANAGEMENT

18.4. INFORMAL STEWARDSHIP

19. AFFORDABILITY PATTERNS

Build in affordability for all incomes…

19.1. INTEGRATED AFFORDABILITY

19.2. COMMUNITY LAND TRUST

19.3. MULTI-FAMILY INFILL

19.4. SPECULATION TAX

20. NEW TECHNOLOGY PATTERNS

Integrate new systems without damaging old ones…

20.1. SMART AV SYSTEM

20.2. RESPONSIVE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY

20.3. AUGMENTED REALITY DESIGN

20.4. CITIZEN DATA