Legalize Neighborhoods (again)

The good folks at ChangeThis have a PDF "manifesto" from architect and urbanist David Greusel up for your perusal:

America has forgotten how to make cities. With traffic-planning and single-use zoning the beloved neighborhood has been made illegal in most U.S. cities ... Since about the end of World War II, the United States has remade itself from a nation of people into a nation of automobiles. Don?t believe me? Look around you. Unless you live in central Boston, New York, San Francisco or Chicago, chances are you spend most of your waking hours driving — not walking — around a city that didn't exist fifty years ago — a city made for cars. ... Is this where you live, or where you aspire to live? Some call it the American Dream. I call it a nightmare. This sprawling suburban, car-comfort lifestyle is not how we were meant to live.

Comments

[David Sucher]

Does it strike anyone as new? And I wonder if such hectoring has any sort of useful effect.

I have read such more-moral-than-thou diatribes for my entire adult life -- let's say the past 35 years -- and it seems a little stale and, more importantly, ineffective.

[jlt]

David, I'd agree with you but for one thing – it's a beautiful little piece of graphic design. The argument is old, we are all familiar with it, and the author doesn't promote much in terms of alternatives or mechanics to change, but the "manifesto" itself is a very nice little piece of art. All of the ChangeThis pieces - and there are many - are beautifully constructed. Sometimes it seems like they are just looking for an excuse to strut their stuff, though, as in the case of this not terribly original document.

[Nathan Landau]

It's not original, but it's not wrong either. It does include what I'd call a set of principles for positive urban change. Hopefully some people will see it who haven't seen a bunch of these arguments.