The low-slung, car-oriented apartment buildings represent a mid-century solution to a housing shortage and offer valuable lessons for new development.
Describing the "aggressively economical" icon of mid-density apartment buildings known as dingbats that pepper Los Angeles from the Valley to the Eastside, Laura Bliss writes that these buildings "were a multifamily answer to that single-family template." These two- to three-story buildings include a carport on the bottom level and generally house six to 12 units. In the 1950s and 1960s, "[t]his new format for affordable multifamily living became nearly as ubiquitous as the single-family tract housing that iconified the much-mythologized Southern California suburban lifestyle."
Dingbats provided "an essential resource for a growing city: Los Angeles County added more than three million residents between 1940 and 1960, thanks to job booms in manufacturing and aerospace, educational opportunities for returning GIs, and the lure of year-round sunshine." Over 700,000 new units sprawled outward as new freeways made the periphery more accessible and the city swallowed up citrus orchards and ranches.
Today, dingbats, many of which are rent-stabilized, offer some important benefits as "a bastion of relatively affordable shelter" in a city facing a severe housing shortage. "Dingbats may also hold the possibility for accommodating further infill: Thanks to recent legal changes, it’s now possible to convert carports into accessory dwelling units, which some owners are beginning to do." These buildings exemplify the mid-century's answer to "missing middle housing" and "tell a story of when the city met the demands of the day with a low-cost, replicable, yet individualized housing form factor."
FULL STORY: How Los Angeles Became the City of Dingbats
How Virginia Communities Are Encouraging 'Missing Middle Housing'
Local leaders hope that streamlining permit processes and eliminating restrictive zoning regulations will set the groundwork for increased production of small and mid-sized multi-family housing.
Vancouver Considers Easing Rezoning for Social Housing
The proposal would let non-profits build housing developments of up to six stories without a public rezoning process in mid-rise neighborhoods.
A Critical Review of "Sick City: Disease, Race, Inequality and Urban Land"
Patrick Condon's new book, "Sick City: Disease, Race, Inequality and Urban Land" recommends tax reforms and housing subsidies to create more affordable and inclusive communities. It is attractive propaganda that deserves critical analysis.
Phase 1 Revealed for $20 Billion Chicago Megaproject
Plans for One Central, a proposed megadevelopment that would add 22.3 million square feet of buildings to the city of Chicago, are taking shape.
Top Websites for Urban Planning – 2021
Planetizen's annual list of the best of the urban planning Internet.
Homeowner Groups Find an Antidote to Zoning Reforms: National Register Historic Districts
Many neighborhoods are moving to create historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in response to the growing number of states, cities, and neighborhoods loosening single-family residential zones.
TischlerBise, Inc.
Getty Conservation Institute
University of Calgary
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Symbium
Rowan University's Department of Geography, Planning, & Sustainability
City Of Oakland
Hillsborough County Public Schools
City of Raleigh
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.
