Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 3-3 Future growth was expected to remain within the urban boundary in most cities
(Philadelphia Tri-state District Master Plan, 1932).
industrial, and even recreational uses strung along the road network, repeating
the same pattern in every community across the country. The identical strip mall,
shopping center, or office park can be found everywhere, frequently with the
same mix of retailing ventures. While residential design does vary by region, it
must also be recognized that one can find a Cape Cod design, California hill-
side home, or midwestern ranch house anywhere else in the country. Whatever
the particular mix of styles, it is the pattern of repetitive and somewhat bor-
ing units marching across the landscape (Figure 3-6) that is most representative
of suburban residential land use. Of course, the older urban pattern of “row”
homes found in most Eastern cities (Figure 3-7) was equally unimaginative,
but did meet a critical need of affordable housing at a time in our develop-
ment when we could not afford to live far apart or remote from employment or
public transit.
The end result of this 50-year-long transition is what we see today: endless
tracts of identical residences sprawling across former fields, bound together by an
asphalt and concrete web radiating out from the original city center. After several
decades of decay, the urban centers have undergone or are just beginning a rebirth
of activity, including vertical residences (Figure 3-8) in city centers and along
the edge of land and water. Such “vertical villages” serve to induce the return of
residents to the city, but as separate communities that are isolated from the less
Search WWH ::




Custom Search