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The Danger Of 1950s Planning In The 21st Century

Posted by: Nate Berg
Thanks to: Paul Shigley
21 February 2008 - 2:00pm

An old Navy base presents the San Francisco suburb of Alameda with a great opportunity. However, a long-standing city policy that prohibits high-density development could quash that opportunity.

"The choice is a 1950s-style bedroom community, all houses and cars and little else, or a mixed-use community in the style of the early 21st century, where higher densities are the trade-offs for premiums in open space and historic preservation," writes CP&DR's Morris Newman.

"One can almost imagine a public hearing, in which half the room is filled with people who look like the parents in the Dick and Jane books, and the other half resembling the hip, high-tech parents of the 'Spy Kids' movies.

There is nothing necessarily wrong with single-family suburbia, Newman writes, but it's not necessarily appropriate for a prime infill location such as this one.

Full Story: Alameda Point: Nostalgia Confronts 21st Century Plan
Source: California Planning & Development Report, February 20, 2008
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Rarely does eminent domain get credit for the positive things that have been accomplished through its use. Without it, our urban areas would be places without the great virtues of conformity and sensible land use.
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