Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Should we let sprawl be sprawl? Image via Better! Cities & Towns
Should we let sprawl be sprawl? Image via Better! Cities & Towns
false

Transforming the territory of strip malls and big boxes into walkable places is a hot topic, exemplified by the popular book “Retrofitting Suburbia.” But is it worth the time, money, and effort?

Robert Steuteville of Better! Cities & Towns writes that architect Kevin Klinkenberg and development expert Lee Sobel raised the question at this year’s Congress for the New Urbanism.

Klinkenberg explained in a blog that sprawl repair is a "fools errand" and new urbanists should "just say no." He said: "Suburbia, or sprawl as we interchangeably call it, is all about bigness and mass production." Put simply, "it's outside the DNA of walkable cities. Embracing sprawl retrofit is like saying we can transform fast food culture into healthy food."

He's saying that sprawl repair is the Chicken McNuggets of urbanism.

Klinkenberg concludes: "I do believe that sprawl retrofit is not a wise approach for new urbanists. I'd say, let's keep it simple — let urbanism be urbanism and sprawl be sprawl."

Steuteville disagrees. There will always be a market for sprawl, he writes, but as preferences change, it's becoming obvious that drivable places consume a much greater share of the built environment -- 95 percent -- than people actually want.

He points out that some cities, like Atlanta and Los Angeles, have few options other than retrofitting their car-centric development patterns:

Repairing the suburban fabric -- incrementally, through proper channels and Democratic means -- is necessary and can't be avoided.

Granted, you can't transform a fading commercial strip lined with single-use buildings and parking lots into a walker's paradise immediately. The outcome may not equal historic Charleston, but turning a lousy place into a decent one improves people's lives. The next generation can make a decent place great.

Elsewhere on the Network today: BikePortland breaks down an audit of local traffic safety cameras, Baltimore Spokes links to a study on how better police reports on bike crashes could save lives, and Greater Greater Washington says DC isn’t meeting its housing goals.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Friday’s Headlines: Post Thanksgiving Edition

We're going to take Black Friday off, but here are a few headlines to keep you going.

November 29, 2024

Sound Vision: Two Broadway Blocks To Get Permanent Upgrades

"We’re really looking to create a premier public space," said the DOT's Public Realm Unit acting lead. All right then!

November 27, 2024

Wednesday’s Headlines: Our Big Mack Attack Edition

Who knew that our little story about MTA Board member David Mack's illegal parking and placard abuse would generate so much heat? Plus other news.

November 27, 2024

Pedestrian Struck and Injured in Queens by an NYPD Traffic Agent: Cops

Police officials said that one of their traffic agents struck and injured a pedestrian in Jackson Heights on Monday night, and was not arrested.

November 26, 2024
See all posts