February 10, 2023
Suburban Reinvention, by SOM
Let’s talk about the 20-Minute Suburb.
Across the country, housing has been on A1 the past few weeks. We don’t have enough of it, we can’t afford it, we can’t agree on where to put it. And the clock is ticking.
While many have proposed changes to zoning, increased urban densification, and 3D-printing housing, a group of planners from the Bay area has another idea.
Ellen Lou of SOM, and her team of planners, authored a new proposal called Suburban Reinvention. In this analysis, the group of planners propose a set of improvements that can be made to suburban neighborhoods to allow access to work, recreation, exercise, and socializing within a 20-minute walk or bike ride. Changes to zoning, transportation investment, and strategic development around transit hubs could make sustainable densification possible.
Since “suburbs” is considered a veritable 4-letter word in the world of urbanism, it’s refreshing to see a hopeful take on these neighborhood hubs as a solution to the raging housing crisis. Especially after so many fled cities for suburbs post-COVID, maybe these sprawling centers have a more open-minded audience?
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IDEA SPOTLIGHT
inCitu New York City Takeover
Based on NYC Open Data, AR platform inCitu generated a 3D, ready-to-AR view with 23,000 real upcoming and under review projects (1% of the city's built environment!), mapping the city's future skyline and streetscape into augmented reality. Last week, they featured 20 of these projects in their future sites and are now tracking the engagement from the ground. inCitu will be activating more and more projects every week.
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