Suburban Sprawl
At the Millennium
by Juan Wilson
© 1996 The Gobbler: Spring Bud
In old photographs of area buildings we still
can see evidence of a time when a different set of artistic
concerns were operating in this region of western New York (see
"Dunkirk at the Turn of the Century"). The configuration and
detailing of the buildings in those pictures indicate a deep
concern for principles like scale, proportion, composition,
and historic context. There were a great number of artisans
with a wide variety of techniques necessary to execute these
works. A decorative wrought iron fence or a stone lintel over
a door required the hands of a craftsmen with years of experience.
Such work was respected and honored.
As we look around today, and examine new structures,
like the Walmart in either Dunkirk or Lakewood, we see something
entirely different. These stores are essentially warehouses
set on a sea of asphalt. The only color or design in evidence
at either site is the huge self promoting sign "Walmart." The
economics are clear. Build the largest store allowable as cheaply
as possible and provide as much parking and as little landscaping
as is permitted. This will make the store profitable. Maximize
the bottom line.
Unfortunately, buildings like Walmart's in
Jamestown and Dunkirk are the norm in today's construction industry.
They are stamped out of a mold. (Interestingly, as a matter
of economy and customer comfort each Walmart is almost identical.
Walk around the inside of Jamestown or Dunkirk stores and you
won't be able to tell what city your in.)
The exterior walls of buildings like this are
often merely made of bead foam insulation boards covered with
fiberglass fabric that is painted with a stucco-like plastic
paint. These buildings might look like they are made of stucco
or cement, but in fact are not built for the long run. They
are more like refrigerator boxes than buildings.
This phenomena of constructing buildings without
regard for beauty or craftsmanship is a more acute problem in
our region than in other places. This is not to say that there
are not similar problems in other places, but even limited travel
around this country will reveal that the northeast is far behind
other places. We have developed lower expectations and accept
a lower set of aesthetic criteria when permitting development.
We don't expect more. So we don't get it.
Recently I visited a part of the country that
is developing very quickly...Cucamonga, California. It is a
dry sloping landscape in the eastern foothills of the San Gabriel
Mountains. What were once grape and citrus fields are now suburban
homes and shopping plazas. Almost every building is new. Many
of the same national franchises we see here are there: Taco
Bell, Mobil Gas, Builder's Square, Walmart, Midas Muffler, etc.
What struck me was that someone had spent the time and energy
to make these places look good. There was more attention paid
to the needs of the pedestrian than we are accustomed to seeing
here.
Cucamonga, CA gas station
One of the more aesthetic buildings I noticed
in Cucamonga was a donut shop opposite a Taco Bell. There were
inset terra-cotta tiles, wrought-iron benches, and ornamental
planters with well maintained plants. Traffic islands in the
parking lot were lush with newly planted trees and landscaping.
This was not a rich neighborhood either. It appeared similar
to small cities like Dunkirk here in Western New York in socioeconomics.
Certainly the franchises were the same ones we see here. Why
don't those same companies build as beautifully here as in Cucamonga?
Because we don't expect and demand it, that's why.
Some argue that the car has transformed our
sense of what is beautiful to a distant landscape or a blur
on the windshield. The pedestrian sense of space as an unfolding
narrative is lost in the insulation and speed the car provides.
There are many people who think it desirable
to improve their failing downtown districts. They are horrified
that their cities seem on the verge of financial ruin. They
complain about the death of their city's center and the lack
of stores. They see poverty and blight where they once saw a
vigorous community.
Some of these people think they have a solution
to the problem; make it more convenient to park downtown. This
is exactly the wrong solution. The "easier to park" solution
is the very reason the suburban strip developments are sucking
the life out of the city centers in the first place (See related
pictorial essay, "Downtown Parking").
The solution for the cities is to solve the
problem of the pedestrian, not the driver. Cities are brought
to life by pedestrian activity. Cars and parking facilities
are not what make a city healthy. Cities are healthy if there
is a need for people to be on the street. In a time when you
walked home from work or school, it made sense to do business
with the butcher, shoe repair or newsstand that lined your path.
The urban density and scale that was attainable with pedestrian
traffic is merely an annoying lack of parking spaces when inside
a car.
It's funny that in the strip suburbs people
will gladly park in the huge parking lot, and then have to walk
a quarter mile to enter the store they wish to shop in. Then
they will have to walk a hundred yards through the massive store
to find the aisle with crackers or rubber bands, only to find
the store doesn't carry exactly what they want.
The parking lot is a kind of nowhere landscape.
It's not public and it's not private. Sort of like those parking
ramps in movies where innocent people are hunted down. It's
designed for automobile traffic that just incidental has humans
walking through it. There is nothing for the pedestrian but
glistening hoods and blacktop. Almost an insect-like existence.
Inside the store on the other side of the long
waiting row of cash registers. Its a kind of timeless place.
There are no clocks. The illumination is always the same even
fluorescent light. Many of the stores are conveniently open
at all hours. As long as your credit is good you'll never have
to leave the premises.
These are not public spaces in the way we used
to mean public. The enclosed mall, or the Wegmans (incorporating
the dry cleaner, photo shop, butcher, grocery, restaurant, etc.)
have replaced Main Street with a private corporate commercial
container where you shop under one roof. An up side of this
is that someone can buy canned octopus at 3 AM. A downside is
that the small individual business with expertise and special
customer service can't afford to stay on Main Street, or anywhere
else for that matter.
A specific example occurred when Walmart opened
on a suburban strip in Lakewood here in Western New York. Richard
Hinderer ran a pet food business in the small rural hamlet of
Blockville nearby. He provided expertise in the feeding and
care of rare pets. My brother-in-law used to make the forty-five
minute trip from the next county to Hinderer's store in Blockville
for pet food and advice on snakes and turtles. Hinderer didn't
make a lot of money giving advice. He made a marginal income
selling quality pet food in bulk to people who wanted to buy
cheap. But he didn't have the buying power that Walmart has.
When the Lakewood Walmart opened, Hinderer found they were selling
the same brands of pet food for less than wholesalers would
sell to him. Needless to say, his business suffered greatly,
and his advise was sorely missed. The high school kid working
for minimum wage at Walmart couldn't fill his shoes.
For some time Chautauqua County has had a Master
Plan that advocates the widening of Route 60, so that it can
become the economic spine for commercial development between
Dunkirk and Jamestown. This might result in the kind of runaway
strip development found on Peach Street, near the Mill Creek
Mall outside of Erie, Pennsylvania. Ask the residents there
about taxes and the quality of life in the fast lane. Before
we let the County's Master Plan turn Route 60 into a commercial
strip running along the backbone of our county, we need to raise
our expectations and visualize a better place to be. If we are
to leave the city behind, let it be for something with a little
beauty and a shady spot where we can sit and enjoy the view.
God knows, there is enough of the alternative already .
It's time for a change. We can only benefit
by expecting more from developers who are interested in making
money from our community. As it is, most of what is new here
is cheap and ugly. It also requires too much parking space.
We don't have to accept the garbage we have been getting or
accept that the car is more important than the person in planning
our future. If you have an opinion on how your area should be
developed contact your local city, county, or state planning
agency (see related article, "Avoiding Sprawl").
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