Smart cells follow land use logic based on infrastructure - existing LIRR stations will be the focal point on which area subdivisions are made. Densification will occur within the downtown to more effectively utilize the man-made landscape, leaving open space in the surrounding area for agriculture and habitat restoration.
Calling out to architects, urban designers, planners, students, visionaries, the Build a Better Burb competition seeks to find a bold new design proposal that can retrofit underutilized spaces in suburban downtowns with more effective uses, forms and practices in planning and design. More than an opportunity to tout conceptual ideas in flashy and unfeasible renderings, this competition aims to take hold of the pressing challenges these communities are facing and turn them into opportunities for economic productivity, environmental sensitivity, social sustainability, and beautification.
You can take a look at all the finalists here, and be sure to submit a vote for your favorite entry!
+ Build a Better Burb
Interesting and intriguing.. but sadly a waste of time. You’d need a revolution or ‘gasp’ socialism to get people, stores, and businesses to give up their locations. NIMBY signs would take over every free billboard spot. They can’t even build a much needed bridge from LI to CT.
If you think this submission is intriguing, please check out the full gallery of 23 Build a Better Burb finalists, where there are many other powerful ideas.
It really is time to fundamentally retrofit suburbia, and what better place to start seriously thinking about it than Long Island, especially with its existing infrastructure of the Long Island Rail Road.
This is powerful thinking. I love it. We need to find a better solution than sprawl.