Housing Bubble
The New Shape of Suburbia, looks at what’s changing and why
May 06, 2003
WASHINGTON — In keeping with changing consumer demographics and lifestyles, today’s suburbs are looking less and less like the “one-size-fits-all” subdivisions of the past 50 years, through increasingly distinctive development styles that incorporate more diversity and more choices in live-work-play environments.
The New Shape of Suburbia, just published by the Urban Land Institute, examines what’s new in suburban neighborhoods: higher development densities; a greater mix of land uses, including more mixed-use town centers; more infill development, more clustering of housing to conserve open space; more mass transit options; shared parking arrangements; more primary employment centers; better access to educational and medical services; and more cultural amenities. “While some older, inner-ring suburbs are declining and losing population, many others are being transformed into walkable, higher-density, mixed-use districts that are the equals of the best urban neighborhoods,” says publication author Adrienne Schmitz, ULI’s director of residential community development.
New Shape points to the continuing influence of baby boomers as purchasers of more than one primary residence, and to the growing influence of echo boomers as boosting the rental market; the publication also examines the impact of demographic shifts such as a decline in households with children; an increase in minorities living in suburbs; and a more evenly dispersed mix of age groups in suburbs, including young families, middle-aged empty nesters still in the workforce and retirees aging in place. “All these market demands translate to the need for different types of housing, neighborhoods and development types,” the publication says.
Other factors that are changing suburban development include a shift in lifestyles and priorities, such as a rise in the number of people working at home and in the number of people seeking shorter commutes and fewer errand trips. Such demographic and lifestyle changes have resulted in people placing less value on developments packed with amenities and more value on developments that offer a sense of connection, diversity and pedestrian access. “For developers, the task is to foster community for people who have no time to do it themselves,” according to the publication.
Eleven case studies of recent suburban developments are included: Winslow Mews in Bainbridge Island, Wash.; The Fields of St. Croix, Lake Elmo, Minn.; Sonoma Villero in Bothell, Wash.; Farrcroft in Fairfax, Va.; Orange Shoals in Cherokee County, Ga.; The Parks of Austin Ranch in The Colony, Texas; Belle Creek in Commerce City, Colo.; Southern Village in Chapel Hill, N.C.; Ladera Ranch in Orange County, Calif.; King Farm in Rockville, Md.; and Bahcesehir in Bahcesehir, Turkey. While the developments vary widely in size, type and location (ranging from a 1.5-acre infill project with 22 homes to a 4,000-acre master-planned community with 8,100 homes and nearly 1 million square feet of office and retail space), they all have characteristics indicative of broad trends in suburban development.
Such trends include:
- The ideal of "live-work-play-shop-learn" as the basis for the most interesting projects
- The concept of new urbanism emerging as a mainstream way of designing communities
- Increased expenditures for design and planning, which ultimately cuts the amount needed for marketing
- Greater acceptance of well-designed higher density
- Growing success with demographically mixed neighborhoods and those offering mixed-income housing
- Recognition by localities of the value of narrower streets and improved rights-of-way for pedestrians
- Public demand for greater environmental responsibility.
“The best new developments are places where people can build their lives—make social connections, educate their children, obtain goods and services that meet their daily needs, and even earn their livelihoods, all within the community,” the publication says.
Source: Urban Land Institute
