Desert Urbanism - Design with the Desert: Conservation and Sustainable Development - page 425

25
Desert Ur banism*
Nan Ellin
CONTENTS
25.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 427
25.2 Integral Urbanism .............................................................................................................. 428
25.3 Learning from Mistakes ................................................................................................... 430
25.4 Retrofitting Metro Phoenix .............................................................................................. 431
25.5 Slash City............................................................................................................................. 436
25.6 The Beauty of the Child .................................................................................................... 437
References ..................................................................................................................................... 438
25.1 Introduction
A house where I once lived in Cincinnati came with a small grape ivy plant in the hall
bathroom. I adopted the plant and watered it regularly. But oddly, it never grew. It did
not die, but during the 2 years I lived in the house, it never sprouted a leaf. While residing
in Phoenix, Arizona, I have been reminded often of that grape ivy. Leaving it behind for
the next inhabitants, it became emblematic for me of so many North American cities that,
although may be surviving, are clearly not thriving.
Just as we are a part of nature, so are our habitats, including our cities. Many of our
expressions implicitly acknowledge this organic quality of places. For instance, we
typically describe a dull place as “lacking character” in contrast to a “lively” place. The
French describe the dull place as lacking soul ( Il n'a pas d'âme ) and the lively one as “ animé ”
(animated, spirited, or soulful). Over the last half century, however, urban development
has treated the city as a machine for efficiently sheltering and protecting, as well as
moving people, money, and goods. However, these well-intentioned efforts to cleanse the
city of illness and to render it more efficient have gone too far. Globalization and attendant
standardization have been endangering the soul and character of our landscapes and
our selves, as manifest in sprawl, the growing perception of fear, a declining sense of
community, and environmental degradation.
While this downward spiral continues, it has been countered in recent years by a
marked upward spiral. Indeed, a quiet revolution has been underway in urban design
and planning, born of a frustration with reactive and escapist trends, aiming to heal
the wounds inflicted upon the landscape over the last century. This revolution is quiet
because its practitioners are not united under a single banner and because its sensitivity
to people and the environment translates into interventions which may not call attention
* Adapted in part from Ellin, N., Intregal Urbanism (New York: Routledge, 2006).
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