THE LIGHTWAVE BLOG

How do we design for organic growth in an urban environment?

A recent trip to the Americas took me to the Western coast of the USA and Colombia.  As an architect there is of course the obligatory visit to anything Gehry¹ in the states and anything religious in Colombia.  As interesting as the architecture is it seems that the transient experience of these places highlights the broader planning issues that define the total experience.

As with Australia strict guidelines define how development in the USA progresses.  These of course vary slightly state to state but there is an overriding philosophy that makes it all clearly American.  The modern sprawl appears to be relatively consistent throughout so the real differentiation comes from the older town centres and inner suburbs.  There are in some of these areas some wonderfully lively spaces that promote an active pedestrian lifestyle with decentralised entertainment and mixed use precincts.  Portland was without question my favourite of these and is defined by tree lined streets² with little to no setbacks and an abundance of micro-breweries.

The Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA

LA is a perfect example of planning gone terribly wrong.  The same can be said for the newer outer suburbs of most American cities and towns.  Not unlike a lot of Australian sprawl, but taken to the extreme, wide uni-directional roads carry massive amounts of traffic across and out of town.  Large concrete footpaths and setbacks further discourage any human activity and provide little to no shade³.  The planning constraints seem to be inspired by the notion of ‘wide open space’ but fail to recognise the importance of intimate and active edges.  There is a real disconnect between the core benefits of a city, being the exchange of goods and ideas within close proximity, and the wide ‘public’ spaces that push everything further and further apart.  The distance created results in a greater reliance on transport and less efficient public transport options, and therefore greater need for larger roads.  The vicious cycle drives the need for the very policies that caused the problems.

Colombia is a whole different affair.  There appears to be little planning control with towns and city suburbs growing organically from makeshift housing and the left over space becoming the roads and pathways.  Most retail occurs on the street, footpaths and traffic lights.  The slums that develop provide housing for the poor⁴ but they are not serviced and are generally dangerous places to live.  The nature of the city growth however eventually starts to absorb a lot of these places (especially the inner city areas) and the services required for health and amenity become introduced as a result.

The towns of Cartegena & Manizales in Colombia

Earlier settlements are well and truly established as town centres and display all the qualities of the organic growth with the comfort of modern society.  These are the areas that really provide an alternative approach to the planning dogma that dominates a lot of western society, and in this discussion the USA.  The beauty of this ‘development of necessity’ as experienced in Colombia is the human activity and the economical use of space that results.  The streets are lively, well shaded and everything is within walking distance.  There is little need for vehicles and they are usually only used to leave the city.  (Of course due to the economic status of most residences there is also little opportunity for vehicle ownership⁵.)   The beauty of these spaces however appears to be defined by the activity within rather than the object.  It should be noted though that it is the object that allows the variety of activity to occur.   Cities like Cartegena add further to this experience with the beautiful Spanish architecture and well shaded break out public spaces that provide relief from the narrow roads and overhanging balconies.

So as western architects and planners how do we work within strict controls and allow the organic nature of society to drive the development?  This could be a long and complicated debate that would reference cultural understanding and market forces, government controls, servicing and many other items.  Working within the current environment however we need to understand what physical manifestations we can provide now, whilst continually challenging the underlying theories to allow the humanism of these spaces to be enhanced at each step and on each new project.  One very simple technique that I will be taking from this experience within future designs is ‘don’t be afraid of small and busy spaces, especially when juxtaposed with open relief’.

Chris Collier

¹ As a side note the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA is a beautifully crafted building that almost makes a trip to LA worthwhile
² A little known fact: the characters of the Simpsons were named after the streets in Portland
³ The urban heat island effect is no more evident than it is within LA
⁴ It is interesting to note that homelessness is far more obvious in the USA in the current climate, than in Colombia
⁵ Due to the massive numbers of people in the cities even a low percentage of car ownership results in severe traffic problems