An interesting article that I came across – from April 10 this year, looks at whether the decades long process of cities sprawling more and more has come to a halt. There are some bits to it which are particularly noteworthy:
Though the recession has left few areas of the United States unscathed, the sprawling neighborhoods out on the far edges of the United States’ metropolitan areas have been especially hard-hit. Property values are falling, crime is rising, and the roads remain as congested as ever.
Some planners say the hard times are spurring a long-term shift away from the car-centric sprawl that has defined increasing swaths of the landscape since World War Two.
Rising prices for transportation and home heating, the declining number of two-parent households with children and a growing disillusionment with long commutes will prompt more Americans to choose smaller housing within walking distance of shops and mass transit, they say.
It would be nice to have a little more information on who exactly these “some planners” are, but it is interesting to see what the long-term effects of this shift might be. An end to sprawl is something that will have huge long-term benefits in my opinion.
It’s also interesting to see what effect these changes are having on people’s attitudes towards transportation. I imagine that the huge spike in petrol prices in the USA last year hurt them in some ways worse than they hurt us here in New Zealand (as our high exchange rate buffered at least some of the oil spike):
A recent survey by the National Association of Realtors found twice as much support for building mass transit as for building roads. More than half of those surveyed said growth should be limited in outlying areas and encouraged in already developed areas.
Geez I wish Steven Joyce would listen to something like that. Actually, I just kind of wish New Zealanders (and Aucklanders in particular) thought more along those lines. Often we’re our worst enemies when it comes to promoting auto-dependency (as shown in yesterday’s post on the Remuera Road bus lanes).
I thought that the following paragraph on shopping centres was particularly interesting – no new malls in America for the whole past two years! That’s almost unbelievable.
The enclosed shopping mall may become a relic of the past. While an average of 19 new malls per year were built in the United States during the 1990s, not a single new mall has been built in the last two years, said Ellen Dunham-Jones, the director of Georgia Tech’s architecture department.Existing malls, meanwhile, are being converted to schools, medical clinics, artists’ studios and open-air “town centers” that resemble traditional shopping districts.
Oddly enough, within the past couple of years Auckland has opened its two biggest new shopping malls ever – Westfield Albany and Sylvia Park. St Lukes shopping centre has also recently signalled plans for a huge expansion. Must we always trail behind the rest of the world?
Overall, the article is an interesting read. Due to its urban limit Auckland has managed to avoid the ‘leap frog’ development that truly defines the ‘exurbs’ of American cities. Perhaps this urban limit will also mean we don’t see the huge glut of housing (and resulting reductions in house prices) here that are starting to be seen in the USA.
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