Accommodating growth: The concept of traditional neighborhood development in Westhaven

  BACHELOR THESIS 2006 ACCOMMODATING GROWTH: THE CONCEPT OF TND IN WESTHAVEN  

Table of Contents

LIST OF DIAGRAMS ................................................................................................. 4

LIST OF MAPS .......................................................................................................... 4

LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... 4

1.  INTRODUCTION  5

2.  SPRAWLING URBAN GROWTH: IMPACTS AND APPROACHES  6

2.1  Causes and Problems of Urban Sprawl  6

2.2  Anti-Sprawl Approaches: Smart Growth New Urbanism and TND  12

3.  PORTRAYAL OF WESTHAVEN S HOMETOWN FRANKLIN  18

3.1  Location  18

3.2  Population  22

3.3  Economics  23

3.4  Provision of Infrastructure  25

3.5  Land Use Development  27

3.6  Urban Growth Management  30

4.  EMBODIMENT OF TND IN WESTHAVEN  33

4.1  Design of Westhaven  33

4.1.1  Genesis of the Project  33

4.1.2  Setting in Franklin  34

4.1.3  Structure of the Neighborhood  35

4.1.4  Architecture of Buildings and Landscape  37

4.1.5  Existing and Planned Service Amenities  39

2  NA  

  BACHELOR THESIS 2006 ACCOMMODATING GROWTH: THE CONCEPT OF TND IN WESTHAVEN  

4.2  Successes and Benefits  41

4.2.1  Pedestrian-friendly Environment  41

4.2.2  Strong Sense of Community  42

4.2.3  High Standard of Living  44

4.2.4  Increased Awareness of Region  45

4.3  Failures and Deficiencies  46

4.3.1  Insufficient Connection to Region  46

4.3.2  Inadequate Internal Business Establishments  47

4.3.3  Inefficient Land Use  49

4.3.4  Unaffordable for Lower-Income Households  51

4.4  Conclusions of the TND Concept: What Westhaven Teaches Us  53

5.  PLANNING APPROACHES FOR TND TO MANAGE GROWTH  57

5.1  Integration in Regional Network  57

5.2  Sufficient Supply with Businesses  60

5.3  Efficient Land Use  61

5.4  Offer of Lower-Priced Homes  64

6.  FINAL VIEW ON THE REVISED TND CONCEPT  68

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................... 70

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ...................................................................................... 71

  BIBLIOGRAPHY  76

  DECLARATION  82

3  NA  

  BACHELOR THESIS 2006 ACCOMMODATING GROWTH: THE CONCEPT OF TND IN WESTHAVEN  

LIST OF DIAGRAMS

  Diagram 1: Growth rates of per capita land consumption and of developed land in the  

  U S (100 largest urbanized areas 1970-1990) 11  

  Diagram 2: Sectors of occupation of Franklin s civilian labor force (in 2000) 24  

  Diagram 3: Allocation of expenditure of Franklin s General Fund (in 2005) 25  

  Diagram 4: Development of (total) road miles in Franklin (1994-2005) 26  

  Diagram 5: Development of budget of Franklin s government (1995-2006) 27  

  Diagram 6: Franklin s residential dwelling units (in 2004) 29  

LIST OF MAPS

  Map 1: Location of Franklin in Tennessee 18  

  Map 2: City of Franklin 20  

  Map 3: Franklin s existing land uses (in 2004) 27  

  Map 4: Franklin s Design Concept Plan (in 2004) 32  

  Map 5: Setting of Westhaven in Franklin 34  

  Map 6: Master Plan of Westhaven (in 2005) 36  

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1:  List of the TND Design Guidelines 16  

Table 2:  Population growth in Franklin from 1890 to 2020 (census data and  

  projections)  19

Table 3:  Structure data of the population in Franklin Williamson County Tennessee  

  and the U S (in 2000 2004) 23  

Table 4:  Development of residential and non-residential acreage in Franklin from  1990

  to 2020 (estimates and projections) 28  

Table 5:  Single-family homes at Westhaven (types sizes prices) 38  

Table 6:  Categories with examples of primary and secondary facilities 59  

Table 7:  Examples of minimum (gross) densities of TND s in different regions 61  

Table 8:  Examples of proportions of land use mix in different regions (in percent of  

  land area within a TND) 62  

Table 9:  Examples of six price categories for TND homes 64  

4  NA  

BACHELOR THESIS 2006 “ACCOMMODATING GROWTH: THE CONCEPT OF TND IN WESTHAVEN”

1. Introduction

Many cities in the U.S. have experienced large growth. With a growth rate of 21.6%, there will be 26.9 million new households between now and 2020. The current building boom in the U.S. is projected to continue through 2030. 1

The unlimited outward expansion of cities into undeveloped

areas on the urban periphery, in the transitional suburban zone between inner city and country, has characterized growth. In many U.S. urban regions, the pattern of growth has occurred in shape of low-dense leapfrog development. This form of suburbanization is commonly referred to as the phenomenon of “Urban Sprawl”. In Sprawl, the typical suburban development is characterized by strictly separated land uses, neighborhoods consisting of single-family homes, uniform and large-scale building components, and automobile dependence.

The plentiful problems that result from the sprawling growth have become more evident in the past decades as they have largely affected the development of economy, ecology, and society. Coping with the inevitable growth is a major challenge for the population, governments, and urban planners. As a reaction to the critical pattern of Urban Sprawl, several new planning approaches have been developed to accommodate growth and prevent Sprawl.

This Bachelor Thesis focuses on the concept of “traditional neighborhood development” (TND), an urban model, developed by architects of the anti-sprawl movement “New Urbanism”. Regarding the issues of the uncontrolled growth pattern of Urban Sprawl, the paper intends to find out, if the implementation of the TND concept can reduce or solve the problems of sprawling growth while conducting a good standard of living. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to answer:

“Is TND a viable urban model to accommodate growth and prevent Urban Sprawl?”

In order to answer this question, the implementation of the TND concept in the case study of Westhaven, located in the growing city of Franklin in Tennessee, is examined. With this example as the centerpiece of the Thesis, the issues of sprawling growth and the planning approach of TND to accommodate this growth are elucidated and critically discussed.

In the following chapter, the origins and problems of Urban Sprawl are subject to this paper as well as some of the approaches towards the prevention of the sprawling growth pattern.

1 Broberg 2006, [Magazine], p.9

5

BACHELOR THESIS 2006 “ACCOMMODATING GROWTH: THE CONCEPT OF TND IN WESTHAVEN”

2. Sprawling Urban Growth: Impacts and Approaches

2.1 Causes and Problems of Urban Sprawl

In almost every era of urban history, there was the transitional zone that housed activities and individuals, which still were intimately connected to urban life but that could not be accommodated easily within the city. For example, it provided space for some industries, marginal and poor citizens, and working farms or villas of affluent families. 2

As cities became economically mature and prosperous, they

tended to spread out at decreasing densities.

The Industrial Revolution in the 19 th century accelerated the

economic and population growth effects in several cities in the Western world. The piling up of density at the center due to increased commercial and industrial activities caused living conditions of many citizens to decline.

Therefore, people fled from the dense mass of buildings and congested streets of the city centers, and the birth of suburbs began. Suburban development expanded along the urban periphery, and along railroad lines radiating outward from the city. 3

In the early decades, mainly upper-class citizens were privileged to live in the new suburbs whereas the working class and the majority of the middle class could not afford the typical single-family detached houses, and rarely an own automobile in order to reach it. Nevertheless, with economic growth, reinforced in the interwar boom-period in 1920’s, Sprawl became a mass phenomenon. Unprecedented levels of affluence, development of

road and technical infrastructure, and rising automobile ownership gave a larger portion of the American population access to the suburbs.

This expanding middle class and its desire to rise above urban, working-class conditions caused people to move to the suburbs to live in the typical single-family homes. The residential enclave, surrounded by spacious yards offered privacy and protection from the outside contamination of the cities. 4 The houses were presented as “ideal villas in nature” to nurture family life and protect children from urban vice. 5

2 Bruegmann 2005, p.21 3 Bruegmann 2005, p.18-28 4 Bressi 1994, p.xxvi

6

BACHELOR THESIS 2006 “ACCOMMODATING GROWTH: THE CONCEPT OF TND IN WESTHAVEN”

This growth pattern continued after World War II at an even stronger pace.

Due to post-war prosperity and the prodigious baby boom, the demand on houses enhanced as the population increased from 150 million to over 200 million, during the first decades after the war. The improved economy led to higher incomes and increased automobile ownership making single-family homes in the suburbs accessible to many more people.

Particularly since World War II, some federal policies fuelled this growth. Mortgages, subsidies, and homeowner deductions in the federal income tax made new homes more affordable. The widespread use of the automobile was also encouraged by the government. The Federal Highway Act of 1954 led to an ever- expanding national network of highways, which became the largest highway system in the world. This highway system combined with the low price of gasoline made it much easier for people to commute from their suburban homes to their urban jobs. 6

Urban Sprawl also intensified because of significant changes within the households. As the baby-boomer generation matured, the national average household size declined from 3.14 persons per household in 1970 to 2.63 in 1990. While population grew and household size sank, the demand for single-family houses increased. Due to the affluence of many households, in particular large house sizes were desired. The median house size expanded from 1,000 square feet in 1950’s to nearly 2,500 square feet by the end of 20 th century. 7

Along with the outward dispersal of population came the outward dispersal of jobs. As many companies relocated on the periphery to be proximate to the workforce, several commercial centers with offices and factories emerged. New economic trends such as the use of computers and the shift from the “product sector” to the “service sector” enforced the development of low-rise office parks in the 1980’s. For example, from 1973 to 1985 five million blue-collar jobs were lost nationwide, while service fields gained from 82 to 110 million jobs. This resulted in 1.1 billion

5 Dutton 2000, p.16 6 Burchell et al. 2005, p.16 7 Bruegmann 2005, p.58-104

7

BACHELOR THESIS 2006 “ACCOMMODATING GROWTH: THE CONCEPT OF TND IN WESTHAVEN”

square feet of office space constructed in new suburban employment complexes. 8 In

addition, shopping centers and most civic institutions settled on the periphery as well.

In order to regulate the rapidly spreading urbanization of land, local governments used the method of zoning. Originally, this instrument was used to separate residential homes from noxious development types, particularly industries. However, local governments tended to use it more for the separation of compatible uses. The different kinds of land uses were divided into “single-use” zones. Consequently, districts emerged that contained one particular land use. Strip shopping centers and big box stores, industrial and office parks, freestanding civic institutions, and solely residential areas emerged. Since car trips were required in order to reach the spatially dispersed zones,

governmental zoning policies demanded wide arterial roads as connectors and large parking lots. The arterial roads led into the auto-oriented street system within the residential subdivisions, consisting of large local streets and cul-de-sacs.

Suburban governments also used zoning to restrict building types, heights, lot sizes, and densities in each zone. The conventional suburban neighborhoods were very low in density and consisted predominantly of single-family homes with deep building-setbacks.

The building boom in the U.S. led to a mass production. Due to higher profitable efficiency, the building industry involving factories, developers, builders, and architects preferred large- scale and standardized building materials and development types. This way of production reinforced the spreading of suburban development and contributed to the uniform appearance.

8 Calthorpe 1993, p.19

8

BACHELOR THESIS 2006 “ACCOMMODATING GROWTH: THE CONCEPT OF TND IN WESTHAVEN”

The population growth and the typical sprawling growth pattern have continued until the present time, causing negative impacts on the physical and cultural landscape in the U.S. The main problems are indicated in the subsequent sections.

Since population and jobs have moved out on the urban periphery, some metropolitan areas have experienced a Decline in the Inner City. As low-income households are less mobile, they have no access to peripheral job or living opportunities and are forced to stay in the city, often being unemployed. Furthermore, the lower housing prices in inner-city regions lead to a concentration of the poorer population. Governments fuel this, since they have turned their interest to the urban periphery, while neglecting inner cities. This is due to high investments into suburban infrastructure as well as subsidies or mortgage tax incentives for homeowners. 9

The pattern of Urban Sprawl is blamed to cause Social Segregation. Since the residential clusters often have different price classes for houses, subdivisions consist of residents with similar socio-economic status. This leads to spatially segregated homogenous societies. Many developers promote the concept of exclusivity, meaning “if

you live within these gates, you can consider yourself a success”. 10 The secession of the more affluent and successful

population segments has triggered “Gated Communities” to become a standard form of U.S. settlement. Gated Communities are self-contained neighborhoods, surrounded by gates or walls that only provide access to the residents.

The homogeneity of the society bears less understanding of what is different and has less concern for the world beyond the subdivision. 11

9 Burchell et al. 2005, p.121 10 Duany, Plater-Zyberk, Speck 2000, p.44-45 11 Duany, Plater-Zyberk, Speck 2000, p.45-46

9

BACHELOR THESIS 2006 “ACCOMMODATING GROWTH: THE CONCEPT OF TND IN WESTHAVEN”

Critics claim that low-density development causes the Loss of

Social Connections between neighbors and members of other

communities. Residents are spatially isolated from each other

due to the large-scale development. The large yards

surrounding the single-family houses create small private isles.

The lack of gathering places within residential areas for

community activities or recreation discourages social interaction

between neighbors. In addition, the dependence on the automobile makes residents spend more time in the car instead of taking part in social activities. 12

The outward appearance of the typical development in Urban

Sprawl, characterized by the uniformity of mass-produced

buildings and large tracts of land used for pavement cause

Aesthetic Objections. According to some critics, the American

landscape has transformed into a new “ultimate aesthetic

wasteland” 13 that most people find ugly and even stressful. Lewis Mumford describes the scenery of Sprawl as “a multitude of uniform unidentifiable houses, lined up inflexibility, at uniform

distances, on uniform roads, in a treeless communal waste”. 14

Since daily life involves several activities, which are spatially

apart from each other, there is a High Automobile Reliance in

the typical suburban development.

“In suburbia, there is only one available lifestyle: to own a car

and to need it for everything”. 15 The suburban roadway system,

consisting of individual roads all entering one collector-road,

causes traffic congestion. In the U.S., about 86% of the

population uses the car as transportation mode. According to a survey in California, people in suburbs conduct an average amount of 11 car trips per day. 16 The long commute times and traffic congestion lead to

stress, time loss and high travel costs. Automobile usage also causes a decline of health.

Particularly the high emissions in the U.S. have immense negative impacts on the

environment. For example CO 2 , contributing to the greenhouse effect. 17

12 Burchell et al. 2005, p.112 13 Bruegmann 2005, p.134 14 Mumford 1961, p.506 15 Duany, Plater-Zyberk, Speck 2000, p.25

10

BACHELOR THESIS 2006 “ACCOMMODATING GROWTH: THE CONCEPT OF TND IN WESTHAVEN”

Due to the leapfrog and low-dense development, Sprawl causes the Vast Consumption of

Land and Natural Resources. In many metropolitan areas, much land is urbanized. The

growth rates of the urbanization of land are often higher than growth rates of the population.

As shown in Diagram 1, developed land

in the U.S. is growing more than twice as fast as the per capita land consumption. Most commonly agricultural land is used for new developments because it is cheap. Also environmentally fragile lands such as forestland, wetland meadowland are consumed.

Population growth also expands the demand for other natural resources like water, energy and other minerals.

Moreover, the high car reliance triggers

the consumption of fossil fuels such as gas and oil. The large-scale and dispersed pattern of

Sprawl increases the consumption of gas and water. In addition, the extraction of minerals is

reinforced since a lot of building materials are needed for constructing large-scale developments. 19

Urban Sprawl triggers High Costs of Infrastructure. This is

reflected in the increasing expenditure of governments and

utility companies, which also influence private household

budgets due to increased fees and taxes.

Burchell et al. states, “Sprawl creates a never-ending upward spiral of costs.” 20 The low-dense development necessitates that

more yards of linear infrastructure for water and sewer mains, roadways and curbs need to be built. Single-use zoning raises costs because parallel infrastructure systems have to be

provided for each development zone. Since many new subdivisions are constructed away

from other development, the existing infrastructure cannot be used. As the result, the need to construct more supply facilities increases. 21

16 Calthorpe 1993, p.48 17 Burchell et al. 2005, p.109 18 Sprawl-City Org. 2000, [Online] 19 Barton 2000, p.35 20 2005, p.3 21 Burchell et al. 2005, p.3-50

11

BACHELOR THESIS 2006 “ACCOMMODATING GROWTH: THE CONCEPT OF TND IN WESTHAVEN”

2.2 Anti-Sprawl Approaches: Smart Growth, New Urbanism, and

TND

As the problems of Sprawl became increasingly evident during the building boom after World War II, people began to perceive that the rapid growth of the low-dense suburbanization had largely affected cities and regions. It triggered much criticism among professionals, governments, and population. Floods of literature were published, and several anti-Sprawl movements, preservation groups, and governmental agencies were formed. In the beginnings of 1990’s, some of these anti-sprawl campaigns developed the guiding motto of “Smart Growth” in order to manage urban growth.

Advocates of Smart Growth promote the mix of land uses, higher densities and compact development, walkable and human-scale environments, preservation of open space, and a

strong sense of place. To implement these principles, governments and professionals have developed planning new approaches. These are reflected in more flexible zoning codes and land use policies, in the establishment of Urban Growth Boundaries (UGB), and in the development of regional plans. The town of Portland in Oregon is one famous example that resembles the Smart Growth approaches.

Established in reliance on a regional plan, Portland consists of regional and town centers, a public transportation system, all surrounded by an UGB that is combined with a greenbelt. 22

One of the most prominent groups that advocate Smart Growth is the “New Urbanism” movement. It is a coalescence of international architects, urban designers, engineers, journalists, public servants, and citizens. The New Urbanism movement was officially founded in 1993, in the first Congress of New Urbanism (CNU). Since then the CNU’s are held annually. At the fourth Congress in 1996, the Charter of New Urbanism was established. This is a declaration of principles that aim to improve the urban design. 23

New Urbanists mainly blame the aesthetic deficiencies of the suburban design to be the major cause of the problems in many urban regions. As antidotes to Sprawl, several New Urbanism architects have developed concepts that suggest alternative designs of urban development.

22 Bruegmann 2005, p. 203 23 Dutton 2000, p.29

12

BACHELOR THESIS 2006 “ACCOMMODATING GROWTH: THE CONCEPT OF TND IN WESTHAVEN”

24 Jacobs 1992, p.19-24 25 Bressi 1994, p.xxx-xxxi 26 DPZ 2006, [Online]

13

BACHELOR THESIS 2006 “ACCOMMODATING GROWTH: THE CONCEPT OF TND IN WESTHAVEN”

proven alternative to Sprawl” 27 . In this book, their basic arguments about TND are reflected in the “TND Checklist” (also referred to as “TND Design Guidelines”), which includes the main principles of the concept.

These guidelines are recommendations directed towards developers, planning officials, and municipalities in order to design new towns, neighborhoods, or villages. 28

A summary of the TND Design Guidelines is shown in Table 1:

27 Duany, Plater-Zyberk, Speck 2000, p.20

28 Duany, Plater-Zyberk, Speck 2000, p.245

14

BACHELOR THESIS 2006 “ACCOMMODATING GROWTH: THE CONCEPT OF TND IN WESTHAVEN”

15

BACHELOR THESIS 2006 “ACCOMMODATING GROWTH: THE CONCEPT OF TND IN WESTHAVEN”

Table 1: List of the TND Design Guidelines 29

In Suburban Nation DPZ indicate, “there are always exceptions, but the majority of TND’s correspond to the majority of the rules”. 30

Since the establishment of their first and most famous project “Seaside” in Florida in 1981,

several more TND’s were constructed all over the U.S (see Illustration 20)

29 Duany, Plater-Zyberk, Speck 2000, p.246-252, Illustrations by DPZ (source: DPZ 2006, [Online]) 30 Duany, Plater-Zyberk, Speck 2000, p.246

16