The Danger Of 1950s Planning In The 21st Century

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.

1 minute read

February 21, 2008, 2:00 PM PST

By Nate Berg

"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.

Thanks to Paul Shigley

FULL STORY: Alameda Point: Nostalgia Confronts 21st Century Plan

Wednesday, February 20, 2008 in California Planning & Development Report

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