Scott Ziegler

Responsible mixed dense growth

Founding Principal at Ziegler Cooper Architects, Jun 30, 10.

Tagged with sprawl, houston, sustainability, urbanism, density, urban form, villages

There is a paradigm shift occurring in the urbanization patterns of large American cities from coast to coast. Throughout the 20th century, suburban sprawl has become a way of life and, in turn, created the gargantuan metropolis many of us call home.

Our cities have become cumbersome to navigate and their infrastructure costly to maintain. Our love affair with the automobile has driven development to the suburb for cheaper land and lower-cost housing.

Today suburban sprawl does not have the same sizzle it once had, and development is moving back to the inner city because our freeways our congested, fuel costs have skyrocketed, environmental pollution is increasing, and our forests are being paved with concrete to build new roads and subdivisions. All of these factors are contributing to an unsustainable growth model for our future.

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Environmental Sustainability Comparison

To further emphasize the environmental impact of suburban sprawl, an environmental sustainability comparison was prepared by Terry Mitchell of Momark Development and Lower Colorado River Authority in the Austin, Texas area. The study compares the environmental footprint of suburban development to high density urban development in downtown Austin.

The comparison reveals a staggering 15 million-40 million gallons/year of landscape water usage for a 200 home single family development, versus zero gallons/ year landscape water usage for a 200-unit urban condo development utilizing a rainwater collection system. Equally staggering is the consumption of 50-230 acres of land for 200 suburban homes, versus one acre for a 200 unit urban condo development.

It is increasingly unrealistic to think that our municipalities can continue to afford the escalating infrastructure cost of low density suburban sprawl.

High Density Developments

It is time to rethink our urban development models and come up with solutions that are ecologically, economically and socially sustainable; and at the same time, respond to the global urgency to reduce greenhouse gases. For the first time, we are beginning to recognize the inefficiencies of suburban sprawl and realize that Houston is just at the beginning of a higher density urban growth period.

We can no longer afford to maintain an urban density of 1.7 persons per acre. To have a meaningful impact, a sustainable growth strategy must go beyond adding up LEED points for individual buildings to be certified by the Green Building Council, but rather, it must be part of a broader development strategy for an entire community that addresses quality of life and the physical environment. In my opinion, our municipalities must begin to look at responsible high density mixed-use growth models which have tangible benefits to its residents.

At the metropolitan scale, mixed-use developments make it easier for people to access jobs, affordable housing, shopping, entertainment and convenient transportation. High density mixed-use developments conserve land and create more green space, parks and contribute to the public realm; all of which reduce the carbon foot print and vehicle miles traveled by the creation of walkable communities.

Most people are under the false perception that higher density developments create more regional traffic congestion and parking problems than lower density developments. The fact of the matter is that higher density development generates less traffic than low density development by making walking and public transit more feasible and creating more opportunity for shared parking.

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