Urban Sprawl is indeed a sight for sore eyes, yet is there a better alternative? New Urbanists think so and have been working hard for the past 20 years to offer up a solution. Interestingly, the New Urbanist communities that have been popping up seem to take a cue from Frank Lloyd Wright's Broadacre City.
Marshall Erdman, who worked with Wright in the 1950's, hired Andres Duany to plan Middleton Hills near Madison, WI. Duany is a leader in the New Urbanist movement and the planning he did for Middleton Hills is most definitely intriguing. The website for this community states:
"The founder of Middleton Hills, Marshall Erdman, wanted residents of this development to rediscover the sense of community that has been lost over the last decades in the sprawl of isolated housing tracts, shopping developments and office parks. The emphasis is on people; on quality of life in a self sufficient neighborhood."
The strict architectural codes of Middleton Hills only allow for three types of architectural styles: Craftsman, Bungalow and Prairie. I guess that's not too bad of a choice, if one was forced. However, the jury is still out regarding all aspects of this planned community. Does it truly solve the problems it sets out to fix? Do the architectural styles make sense and/or are they authentic?
You can read about Marshall Erdman in his biography, Uncommon Sense.
You can also view an informative case study on Middleton Hills here.
Two other New Urbanist communities are Disney's Celebration in Florida and Westhaven in Franklin, TN.
The biography: Uncommon Sense on Marshall Erdman is definately a four star fascinating read!
Posted by: Paul Ringstrom | Mar 31, 2006 at 08:43 PM