Case Studies in Retrofitting Suburbia

Deeply practical and deeply idealistic, this book opens up important opportunities for suburbs everywhere. -Robert Fishman, author of Bourgeois Utopias: The Rise and Fall of Suburbia Masterfully chronicles the innovative spirit of planners, developers, advocates and policy makers retrofitting American car-oriented suburbs into thriving, people-centric communities of opportunity and resilience. -Christopher A. Coes, vice president of Smart Growth America and director of LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors A brand-new collection of 32 case studies that further demonstrates the retrofitting of suburbia This amply-illustrated book, next in a series, documents how defunct shopping malls, parking lots, and the past century's other obsolete suburban development patterns are being retrofitted to address current urgent challenges: improving public health, increasing resilience in the face of climate change, leveraging social capital for equity, supporting an aging society, competing for jobs, and disrupting automobile dependence. Case Studies in Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Strategies for Urgent Challenges provides summaries of how these challenges manifest in suburbia and detailed case studies of retrofits where they have been successfully addressed. From modest interventions with big ripple effects to ambitious do-overs, examples of redevelopment, reinhabitation, and regreening demonstrate how innovative design solutions are being implemented in a range of northern American contexts and market conditions. Describes and analyzes a new generation of realized suburban retrofits that integrate urban design strategies to improve health, well-being, and resilience Illustrated in full color with photos, maps, plans, and diagrams Case Studies in Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Strategies for Urgent Challenges is full of replicable lessons and creative responses to ongoing problems and opportunities with conventional suburban form. It is valuable for students and professionals involved in urban design, architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, development, civil engineering, public health, public policy, and governance. It is intended as a useful guide for anyone who seeks to inspire revitalization, justice, and shared prosperity in places they know and care about.