Levittown is the quintessential American suburb. A new proposal seeks to reinvent it as a hub for small businesses.
This piece from Fast Co. Design looks at this idea and how it could work in Levittown and suburbs throughout the U.S.
"When Droog and Diller + Scofidio set out to re-imagine the American suburb -- specifically Levittown, the most pre-fab of them all -- the results were as surreal as you might expect: a "domesticity museum" charged with preserving a dying way of life; a backyard farm with a take-out window, even an "Attention Clinic" catering to all your narcissistic needs.
There were just a few of the homes on display as part of "Open House 2011," a collaboration between Droog Lab -- an offshoot of the Dutch design collective -- and the architects of Diller Scofidio + Renfro aimed at reimagining the American suburb as a hive of bottom-up entrepreneurial activity, no new buildings or infrastructure required. By running businesses out of their homes, suburbanites could simulate New York City's thriving informal service sector of dog walkers, take-out deliverymen, dry cleaners, nail salons, and livery cabs which provide New Yorkers with mobility-on-demand or laundry-on-demand, rather than requiring they own cars and washing machine -- the classic suburban model."
FULL STORY: In Levittown, The Ur-Suburb, A Proposal To Remake Sprawl Into A Small-Biz Oasis [Slideshow]
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