This is the latest installment in my series on "Building Suburbs That Last". Essential background reading is in my review of Retrofitting Suburbia. To reprise, the trouble facing America's aging suburbs is likely to be one America's top urban challenges of coming years. As suburbs age and fall into decay, they are abandoned for rejuvenated center cities or newer edge suburbs. As I previously asked, who is going to buy a beat up used car when you can get new car with a warranty for cheaper on the fringe? Nobody, which is why we see older … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2009
Indy: Could Marion County Implode?
"'Catastrophes' seem to hit suddenly, but in reality the way has been prepared for them. Unperceived forces gradually eat away at the supports necessary for favorable development until the system is finally unable to resist any longer and collapses." - Dietrich Dörner, The Logic of Failure Indianapolis is arguably the best performing large metro are in the Midwest. Its southern influence has long been noted, but one of the things that has come with this is a growth profile that is closer to the Sun Belt than the Rust Belt. Pro-sprawl, … [Read more...]