Charles Scott
The Challenge to New Cities of the
Late Twentieth Century
Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska. Sectio H, Oeconomia 28, 227-233
A N N A L E S
U N I V E R S I T A T I S M A R I A E C U R I E - S K L O D O W S K A L U B L I N — P O L O N I A
VOL. X X V III, 18 SECTIO H 1994
Z a k ł a d P o l i t y k i S p o ł e c z n e j , G o s p o d a r c z e j i P r z e s t r z e n n e j W y d z i a łu E k o n o m ic z n e g o U M C S
C h a r l e s S C O T T
The Challenge to New Cities of the Late Twentieth Century W yzw an ie rzucone w ielk im m iastom konca X X w iek u
As we m ove into th e tw e n ty -firs t c e n tu ry o u r cities are evolving according to c u ltu ra l and po litical changes. The m a jo rity of u rb a n business a c tiv ity is no lo n ger found p rim a rily w ith in th e city center, b u t instead, is increasingly m oving to th e fringes of th e city w h ere re n t and p ro p e rty values are rela tiv e ly low. T here are several causes for these changes ran g in g from a search for b e tte r living conditions, by th e in h a b ita n ts of th e city — to a search for economic b enefits by corporations and individuals.
In th e U nited S tates th e re is a p rev ailin g notion am ong th e general public th a t cities in g en eral are p e rh a p s are perh aps, ’’u n -A m erican ” .1 This is seen w ith th e continuous developm ent of th e outly ing u rb a n areas w hile th e u rb a n center, in num ero u s cities, has a general h isto ry of u n rele n tin g decay.
F u rth e rm o re , th e adv ancem ent of in fo rm atio n technology has allow ed th e w o rk er to change h e r/h is w orkplace from a c e n tral business location to th e convenience of th e hom e or a location rem o te from th e u rb a n center. This has decreased th e tra d itio n al need for all em ployees to be located at th e c e n tral business h e a d q u arte rs. This change has reinforced th e evolution of cities into a m etropolis conglom eration w ith m u ltip le u rb an centers, each claim ing recognition and autonom y.
These large agglom erations are often not in th e best in te re st of th e city or of th e individual. P revio u s a tte m p ts to develop design schem es for b e tte r u rb a n conditions u su ally h ave entailed a p lan fo r b reak in g - -up th e u rb a n agglom eration. ’’Suggestions have been m ade as to how
1 W. H. W h y t e Jr.: A r e C ities U n -A m e r i c a n ? The E xplodin g M e tropolis, D ou b led ay A nchor B ooks, G arden C ity— N ew York 1957.
228 C harles Scott
th e b reak -u p of th e city is to be accom plished. D iffering as th ey do in details, it is significant th a t th ey possess one tend ency in com m on — th e urge tow ard th e organic, w hich has becom e increasingly stron g in out tim e as a kind of self-p ro tectio n against th e evils of civilization. (...) One suggestion is th a t instead of co n cen tratin g th e po pulation in gi gantic blow n-up agglom erations, th e w hole c o u n try should be colonized in sm all tracks (...) Such a d ecen tralizatio n w ould change us from city dw ellers to co u n try dw ellers... w hich wrould m ain ta in a balance betw een ru ra l and in d u strial occupation”.2
This m ost likely led to an increase in need and in te rest concerning th e developm ent of th e city in th e U nited S ta te s at th e tu rn of th e tw e n tie th cen tu ry . One in flu en tial th eo ry — w hich h ad been developed in G reat B rita in — was Ebenezer H o w ard’s G ard en City. H ow ard’s notion of a new city contained th re e m ain points w hich a p p e ar to have in flu e n ced A m erican designers. Those points consisted of th e concept of th e to w n -co u n try m agnet, increased spaciousness, and dispersal of tow ns aro u n d a cen tral u rb a n area.
1. T ow n-C ountry. D eveloping th e notion of th e to w n -co u n try m ag net w ould be provision of th e advantages of b oth tow n and country: a po p u la te d cen ter lim ited and su rro u nd ed by a la rg e r a g ric u ltu ra l zone, bringing read y m ade m ark e ts of th e tow n to th e fa rm e r and th e deligh ts of the co u n try w ith in quick reach of th e to w n -d w eller. Not a tow n in th e country, and ce rtain ly not a g arden su b u rb , b u t an e n tity of to w n - -co u n try in p e rm a n en t com bination.
2. Spaciousness. In ’th is fo rtu n a te ly -p lac e d co m m unity’ th ere w ould be for all, not ju st a select a fflu en t few, ’am ple sites for hom es, am ple ф а с е for roads... so w ide and spacious th a t su n lig h t and air m ay fre e ly circulate, and in w hich trees, shru b s, and grass give th e to w n a se m i-ru ral ap p earan ce.’
3. D ispersal of Towns. A leap frogging of cities w ould m ean th a t ’in th e course of tim e, we should have a c lu ste r of cities grouped arou nd a cen tral city. H ere H o w ard ’s ’Social C ities’ an ticip ated satellite to w n s’.3 The u tilizatio n of H o w ard ’s notion of th e g ard en city had been m ost p rev a len t in th e m id -w e ste rn U nited S ta te s w here m id-w est arc h ite c ts and u rb a n designers w ere inspired by th e n in e te e n th c e n tu ry A rts and C ra ft m ovem ent. This was influ en tial to th e developed notion of a P ra irie S ty le a rc h ite c tu re and em braced th e concept of th e single fam ily hom e w ith in a co u n try setting.
2 S. G i e d i o n : Space, T i m e and A r c h it e c tu r e , H arvard U n iv ersity P ress, C am bridge, M assach u setts 1978, p. 820.
3 N. T. N e w t o n : D esign on th e L an d. T h e D e v e l o p m e n t of L a n d sc a p e A r c h i
T he C h allen ge to N ew Cities... 229
One of th e m ost p ro m in en t of th e P ra irie Sty le arch itects, F ra n k L. W right, developed a th eo retical city design based on th e notion of G arden City. W rig h t’s B roadacre City accepted th e notion th a t th e ideal A m erican hom e should exist in a co u n try setting. ’’The form of B roadacre City has no center; it is designed w ith o u t h iera rc h y , w ith o u t zoning, w ith o u t specialization... The roadside m a rk e t or... m ain re ta il area is a m ix of re s tra u ra n ts , p riv a te booths, c ra ft shops, gas stations, and rec re atio n a re a ”.4 W rig h t’s p lan relied on th e ea rly tw e n tie th c e n tu ry uto p ian a ttitu d e to w a rd s th e autom obile and ad apted his city design around th e envisioned use of th e autom obile. The autom obile as an expression of a philosophical co m m itm ent to a se lf-re lia n t indiv id ual reinforced th e B roadacre C ity design.5
The im p o rtan ce of th is m ovem ent rests on its, ’’th eo retical connection w ith n a tu re , th e design process being deriv ed from n a tu ra l law s r a th e r th an philosophical idealism or classical ru le s”.6 E qually im p o rta n t w as the em phasis th a t was placed upon a close relatio nship betw een building and landscape, p e rm ittin g th e house to blend com fortably into its setting.7
W rig h t’s notion of a roadside m a rk e t o r m ain re ta il area as an ’u rb a n c e n te r’ m ay have led to th e concept of th e A m erican ’m a ll’. In itia lly located in su b u rb ia, th e in tro d u ctio n of th e m all provided m erch an ts w ith the possib ility of increased pro fit w ith o u t increased p ro p e rty taxes and high in n er city re n ta l rates.
The notion of establishing new areas fo r in d u strial, com m ercial, and resid en tial uses th a t w ould provide a h ig h e r m o n eta ry r e tu r n for in vestors and u sers alike has increased th e p o p u larity of th e sub-division of land. This facto r ap pears to have historical precedence as the, ’’p io n eer tow n was based on grow th, not sta b ility , m o stly an economic m ono cu lture ra th e r th a n a p o ly cu ltu re. In co n trast to m ost E uropean tow ns, m any U.S. tow ns w ere b u ilt arou n d e x tra c tin g resources quickly (...) The g ridiron p lan im plied m an y things: th a t th e to w n could grow quickly and had no m an-m ade lim its, th a t one place w as as good as the n e x t, and th a t land was a sta n d a rd com m odity to be tra d e d and speculated on” .8 The su b d iv is io n of land rem ains a rela tiv e ly effo rtless process. ”It does n o t req u ire larg e capital: th e subdiv id er needs only in v est in the land and
4 S, V a n d e r R y n : S u s ta in a b le C o m m u n it ie s — A N e w D esign S y n th e s is
for Citie s, S u b u r b s an d T o w n s , Sierra C lub/R andom H ou se 1991, p. 220.
5 Ibid-, s. 219.
6 H. A l l e n B r o o k s : F rank L l o y d W r i g h t and th e P ra ir ie S chool, G eorge B raziller, Inc., N e w Y ork 1984, p. 9.
7 Ibid., p. 10
230 C harles S co tt
its surv ey and legal division, alth o u gh he m ay do m ore (...) It d ecen tralizes decision, relieves th e d eveloper of th e b u rd en of a rc h ite c tu ra l design, and allows subsequent ow ners some choice abo ut th e ir buildings. Land c a n be p u t to use piecem eal, as dem and develops, and public agencies can control th e general lines of developm ent w ith o u t being asked to m ak e sim iliar delib eratio n s each tim e a building goes up. T hus th e subdivision has m any social advantages, despite its u n p red ictab le effect om site quality. It is m ore effective at low or m o derate densities, w h ere uses are not com plex, and buildings are e ith e r detached or sim p ly con n ected” .9 The sub-division, though economical, often sacrifices am enities th a t m ay occur w ith in an u rb a n environm ent. Also, p lan n e rs and d esigners have learn ed th a t the m etropolis and th e su b u rb a n subdivisions h ave lost th e ir m ark e t appeal. ”We can no longer afford e ith e r sp raw lin g S u b u r bia or th e congested M etropolis: still less can we affo rd a congested S uburbia, whose visual openness depends upo n th e c e llu la r isolation and reg im en tation of its com ponent fam ilies in m ass s tru c tu re s ” .10
This has led to th e beginning of one new ty p e of c ity w hich is b u ilt on the fringe of th e u rb a n center. This new ty p e begins w ith tw o basic elem ents; th e single-fam ily hom e d evelopm ent and th e shopping m all w hich becomes th e p urch asin g c e n te r for the area. These new areas, w ith th e m all taking th e place of th e tra d itio n al city sq u are are becom ing know n as ’’Edge C ities” .11
Joel G a rre a u defines th e ’Edge C ity’ as ’’any place th a t:
1. Has five m illion sq u are feet o r m ore of leasable office space. 2. Has 600,000 sq u are feet or m ore of leasable re ta il space. 3. Has m ore jobs th a n bedroom s.
4. Is perceived by th e p o p u latio n as one place.
5. W as not like a ’’c ity ” as rec e n tly as th ir ty y ears ago”.12
The concept of th is new city is sim iliar to o th e r previous tw e n tie th c e n tu ry notions of th e city and m ay, ho w ev er rem ote, ex em plify the A m erican ’Id ea l’ of new beginnings — w hich has k e p t th e A m erican public on th e m ove from one location to a n o th e r alw ays searchin g for living conditions.
C o n trary to o th e r new city ty p es, th is new city ty p e does n o t h ave an u rb an h isto ry o r a h isto rical u rb a n context. E ssentially, th ese new
9 K. L y n c h : S ite Pla nning, M assach u setts In stitu te of T ech n ology, C am bridge, M assach u setts 1984, p. 334.
10 L. M u m f o r d : T h e C i t y in H i s t o r y Its Origins, Its T r a n s f o r m a t io n s , and
Its Pro p ects , H arcourt B race Jovan ovich , N e w Y ork 1961, p. 511.
11 J. G a r r e a u, Edge C it y : L ife on th e N e w Frontier, B a n ta m D ou b led a y D ell P u b lish in g G roup, Inc., N e w Y ork 1991 p. 4.
The C h a llen g e to N ew C ities, 231
developm ents have th e p o ten tial of beginning w ith in a n o n -u rb a n n a tu ra l en v iro n m en tal context. O ften, w h en view ing th e site p rio r to th e ground breaking, th e n a tu ra l settin g p rese n ts a co n tex t of co u n try and tow n w hich is rem iniscent of W rig h t’s ’B roadacre C ity ’ and H ow ard ’s ’G arden C ity ’. This is o fte n d estro y ed in th e build in g process creating a setting w hich appears to be a co ntin uatio n of th e su b u rb a n ’c ity ’.
D espite th e ap p a re n t p o v erty of u rb an historical contex t, new cities regardless of location brin g a w ide v a rie ty of c o n te x tu ra l conditions. These contexts a p p e ar w ithin; th e b u ilt form w hich is often of a p a rti cu la r tem p o ral circum stance, aspects of c u ltu re and regional significance, and contexts of th e individual. A ny given context has connucopian possibilities. ’’C ontext is boundless in tw o senses. F irst, any given context is open to f u rth e r description. T here is no lim it in principle to w h at m ight be included in a given context, to w h at m ig h t be show n to be rele v an t to th e perform an ce of a p a rtic u la r, a c t” .13 C ity plann ing and design w hich is in itially open to all c o n te x tu ra l possibilities finds itself utilizing the stre n g th s of th e m any instead of only the elem ents of a closed system .
The b irth of a new city also brings a g raftin g of d iffe re n t contexts onto p red o m in an t o r p rev ailin g contexts creatin g a polygot of contexts. This has been th e tre n d in A m erica as th e cu ltu re, ’’becomes polygot, once and for all and irrev ersib ly . The period of languages, coexisting b u t closed and deaf to each other, comes to an end. L anguages throw lig h t on each other: one language can, a fte r all, see itself only in light of an o th e r lan gu ag e”.14
The experience of th e boundlessness of c o n te x tu ra l languages th a t are brou g h t to th e new city o ften req u ires an in te rp re ta tio n or tra n s lation of those contexts. This involves a view ing of th a t new context in lig h t of o th er con tex ts w hile ’’th e experience th a t is p resen t ’a t m o m ent’ is indebted to an act of rep resen tatio n , p erception is indebted to a re producing recognition”.15
S ev eral con tex ts placed w ith and against each o th e r avoid closure as on m aste r context. T here exists a sta te of continuous change w hich has a continuous influence upon those contexts and the perceiv ers of those contexts. This brings the second notion of co n tex t in th at, ’’context is also un m asterab le in a second sense: any a tte m p t to codify context can
13 J. C u l l e r : O n D e c o n str u c tio n — T h e o r y and C r it ic i s m a ft e r S tr u c tu ra lis m , C ornell U n iv ersity P ress, Ithaca— N ew Y ork 1982, pp. 123— 124.
14 M. M. B a k h t i n : T he D ialogic Im agin atio n , U n iv e r sity of T exas P ress, A u stin , T exas 1981, p. 12.
15 J. H a b e r m a s : The P h ilosophic al Discourse cf M o d e r n ity , M IT P ress, C am bridge, M assach u setts 1987, p. 174.
232 C harles S cott
alw ay s be g rafted onto th e context it sought to describe, y ield in g a new co n tex t w hich escapes p revious fo rm u la tio n ”.16 The g raftin g of one co n te x t upon a n o th e r causes a sense of displacem en t w ith in each con- te x tu ra l language. T h at displacem ent, m ay be utilized as a c a ta ly st in a tra n sitio n a l period of aw akening a discovery of th e c ity ’s id en tity . It is th ro u g h displacem ent th a t city m ay gain a necessary p ersp ectiv e on itself in th e d e te rm in a tio n or creation of its id e n tity .17
W h eth er th e new ’’Edge C ity ” is able to estab lish a feasible id en tity o r w h e th e r it becom es a n o th e r elem en t in an u rb a n conglom eration rem ain s to be seen. The avoidance of id e n tity loss rem ains a stro n g com p onent in the developm ent or redevelopm ent of city.
An im p o rtan t aspect o fid e n tity is th e establishm ent of a sense of a neighborhood. W hen, ’’traced back to its origins, this tu rn s out to be th e old village com ponent, as essential to a balanced u rb a n life as are its cen ters of h ig h er cu ltu re and pu rp o sefu l association”.18 The sense of neighborhood has been established as an im p o rta n t elem ent in o th e r new city types.
The w ork of A ndres D uany and E lizabeth P la te r-Z y b e rk acknow led ges th e im portance of neighborhood as a com m unity and the pc lygot of c o n te x tu ra l languages w hich are p rese n t in th e u rb a n environ m en t. The tu rn -o f-th e -c e n tu ry notion of th e city and its effect on social and indi v id ual w ell-being is p rev a len t in th e ir designs.
The w ork of D uany and P la te r-Z y b e rk , ’’begins w ith th e recognition th a t design affects b eh a v io u r” (...). They ’’see th e s tru c tu re and fu nc tion of a com m unity as in terd ep en d en t. Because of this, th e y believe a d e sig n er’s decisions w ill p erm eate the lives of resid ents not ju st visually b u t in the w ay resid en ts live. They believe in design s tru c tu re s function al relatio n ship s, q u a n tita tiv e ly and q u alitativ ely , and th a t it is a sophisti cated tool whose pow er exceeds its cosm etic a ttrib u te s ” .19 H ow ever, the p o st-m o d ern w orld has discovered th e problem s th a t are in h ere n t in the u to p ian schem es of th e early -m id tw e n tie th c e n tu ry in the a tte m p t to influence th e w ell-being of society and th e individual th ro u g h th e single c o n tex t of th e b u ilt environm ent. The new cities of D uany and P la te r- -Z y b e rk a tte m p t to rem ed y th is th ro u g h careful p lan n in g and regulation.
16 J. C u 11 e r: op. cit., p. 124.
17 G. A. B a r 1 e 11, E xile and C hange in R en a iss a n ce L it e r a tu r e , Y ale U n i v e r sity 1984, p. 13.
18 L. M um ford: op. cit., p. 499.
1# W. L e n n e r t z : T o w n - M a k i n g F u n d a m e n ta ls; A. K r i e g e r , A. D u a n y , P l a t e r - Z y b e r k : T o w n s and T o w n - M a k i n g Prin ciples , R izzoli In tern ation al 1991, p. 21.
T he C h a llen g e to N ew Cities... 233
The new cities of D uany and P la te r-Z y b e rk m ay be seen as a co n trast to th e m erging ’Edge C ity ’. F o r instance, th e city of D u a n y /P late r-Z y b e rk is o ften found in a rem ote settin g d ista n t from existing cities. They also design th e city w ith a som ew hat c e n trally located sq u are containing com m ercial and public elem ents, w ith reg u lated building design codes, and w ith av ailab ility of p ro p e rty for those who are able to afford th e costs. These lim itatio ns m ay be seen as b a rrie rs to th e notion of polyglot c o n te x tu ra l tre a tm e n t of th e city and p e rh a p s creatin g instead a sense of u n ifo rm ity and com pliance w ith in a m onoglot context.
N evertheless, as a n o th e r tu rn ^ o f-th e -c e n tu ry approaches the city continues to evolve w ith th e testing of new ideas concerning th e u rb a n en viro n m en t. Those ideas as contexts in them selves w ill be dissem inated and g rafted on to a v a rie ty of new o r ex isting contexts. An increasing aw areness of regional and global concerns w ill, ’’set a new d irection for u rb a n design: m ore com pact, m ixed-use com m unities, m ore efficient b u il dings, div erse tra n s it system s, an ecologically sound a g ricu ltu re, w a te r and w aste conservation, and u ltim ately , a g re a te r sen sitiv ity to th e uniqueness and in te g rity of each region” .2*
S T R E S Z C Z E N I E
U progu d w u d ziesteg o p ierw szeg o stu lecia je ste śm y św iad k am i ew o lu cji, ja k a m a m iejsce w n aszych m iastach w raz ze zm ianam i zach od zącym i w d ziedzinie p o li ty k i i k u ltu ry . Znaczna część d zia ła ln o ści gospodarczej prow adzonej w m ieście n ie k o n cen tru je się już w sa m y m jego środku a raczej na obrzeżach m iasta, gdzie czyn sz i cen y n ieru ch om ości są sto su n k o w o n isk ie. Istn ieje w ie le p ow od ów u zasad n iającycn ten trend, p ocząw szy od p oszu k iw an ia lep szy ch w a ru n k ó w życia przez m ieszk a ń có w m iasta aż po d ążen ie do o sią g n ięcia lep szy ch k orzyści gospodarczych, zarów no przez p rzed sięb iorstw a, jak i osob y fizyczn e.
R ozw ój n o w y ch m iast bez w zg lęd u na ich lok alizację w y m a g a w ie lu różn ora kich u w aru n k ow ań . U w a ru n k o w a n ia te tk w ią w ew n ą trz, sk ład ają się na nie: form a b u d ow lan a, która często w y n ik a z ok oliczn ości danej ch w ili, sp ra w y k u ltu ro w e i reg io n a ln e o isto tn y m zn aczen iu oraz k o n tek st jed n ostk i. K ażdy z tych a sp ek tó w o feru je n ieogran iczon e w p ro st m ożliw ości.
P od ob n ie jak w u b ieg ły ch czasach, p rzełom w ie k ó w przynosi e w o lu cy jn e zm ian y w ch arak terze m iasta, które sta je sdę p oletk iem d ośw iad czaln ym dla n ow ych id ei i p o m y słó w d otyczących środ ow isk a urb an istyczn ego.
