In late March, the New York Times had a “Room For Debate” feature on shrinking cities. Eight opinion writers discuss this problem, but few real options for cities are presented. This is especially true for neighborhood-scale realities – what does a city do with neighborhoods filled with derelict houses? Ideology alone cannot provide on-the-ground solutions. Some of the more concrete ideas presented are old ones: convert the lot into a community garden or parklet (would Detroit need 12,000 of these?), offer the lot to a neighbor after demolition of the structure, or be happy that the plants overtaking the lot are providing ecosystem services. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers.
Perspectives on Shrinking a City
July 7, 2011 by praxislandarch
Posted in Landscape Planning | Tagged cities, landscape planning, Rust Belt, vacant lots | 2 Comments
2 Responses
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
Twitter
Tweets by praxislandarchCategories
Blogroll
Archives
- April 2014
- January 2014
- November 2013
- October 2013
- August 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- March 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
Tags
academia academic blogs agriculture alternative energy architecture biodiversity carbon sequestration cities city planning climate climate adaptation climate change conservation curriculum design design thinking drought earthquake ecology and design economy employment environment environmental planning environmental protection flooding future GIS global trends green infrastructure Hurricane Sandy infrastructure innovation innovative planning jobs landscape architecture landscape architecture education landscape architecture theory landscape planning landscape urbanism land use planning mapping maps mitigation modeling natural hazards new graduates New Normal New York City New York State paradigm shift park funding parks politics pop-up urbanism praxis public health rain garden recession recreation reflective practice regions research resilience revitalization Rust Belt sprawl sustainability Syracuse tactical urbanism threatened species trends urban design urban heat island urban planning water quality
Praxis in Landscape Architecture 
The real solution would be to direct development occurring in the suburbs back into the cities. It is just plain wrong, from an environmental standpoint, to be developing new subdivisions on farmland and other green space when there are empty houses and vacant lots in cities, Syracuse being a prime example. We also need a system to safely mothball buildings when current economic/political conditions do not favor reuse.
“safely mothball buildings” until conditions favor reuse. That’s an interesting idea. I’ve recently passed by a number of unused commercial buildings and had time to contemplate them while sitting at red lights…. I was thinking about how quickly their appearance deteriorates. And their ugliness brings down the whole area. Sometimes just a coat of paint would be transformative.