Colleges are often referred to as small communities; Georgia Tech is no exception. More interestingly, according to the criterion established by Suburban Nation, it is an ideal neighborhood. First of all, its walkability is suburb. A vast majority of students walk to class and in most areas, barriers prevent automobiles from driving through campus. As for the traffic that circulates around the perimeter, frequent traffic light transitions reduce speeding and allow pedestrians to cross streets easily. The wide sidewalks and small radius of street corners make walking the number one mode of transportation amongst most Tech students.
For those that need to get across campus quickly, the Stinger, Stingerette, and Tech Trolley are public transportation options. Not only do these mass transport vehicles offer a convenient mode of transportation, they reduce the volume of green house gases that might otherwise be produced by cars. As a result of the reduction of personal vehicles, parking lots are a rare sight. Circulating around campus every ten to fifteen minutes, they are a reliable and efficient service.
Another design characteristic of campus is the close proximity of vital resources. Classes, restaurants, and activities are all within walking distance. This fosters a more cohesive community because cars are not required. This results in fewer streets and more green space. These areas encourage people to congregate and become involved with the community. Consequently, this also deters criminal activity and improves the security of campus.
The sense of community may be strong because the absence of noisy vehicles and abundance of green spaces, but Tech is also home to a many cultures. A large percentage of students come from other countries and add to the cultural diversity. In addition, there are several cultural groups that encourage others to join and learn about their backgrounds. Amongst the many cultural groups, Tech encourages numerous interests. Whether you’re interested in swimming, math, or robotics, there is a club for it.
Overall, Georgia Tech reflects many of the qualities of an ideal community as described in Suburban Nation. Excellent walkability, public transportation, and diversity are just a few of the features of Tech that make it a wonderful community.
-Kevin
Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck, authors of Suburan Nation claim that most of the failure of the modern suburb is accountable of the automobile. I felt that the authors concentrated greatly upon how the automobile came to dominate in such a ridiculous and even comical degree in America. However, if this is true, then the spread of sprawl will just be an after-thought after oil supplies run low. In my last blog, I evaluated James Kunstler’s argument regarding the connection between oil and suburban sprawl. After reading Suburban Nation, I have noticed a pattern of development that has resulted in rampant sprawl.
Wider roads, new highways, and acres of parking lots all encourage the notion of America as an asphalt nation. While wider roads may promote speeding and make a community feel less cohesive, it also fosters the theory that our communities are built around transportation. The corners of intersections have even been made wider to accommodate for colossal fire trucks that are unnecessary in a suburb because no building is over two stories. Unfortunately, this reduces the safety of pedestrians who now have to make a one hundred foot walk to cross a street that could be sixty feet shorter. This is a result of the decisions made by governments, developers, and citizens that aspire for opposing values. Wider corners may quicken the travel of fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances, but while these vehicles serve to protect the public, the ways they affect the walkability of public areas endangers citizens as well.
This book articulated some of the frustrations associated with living in a city, but with the way that the American infrastructure has been developed, our dependence on automobiles does not seem to be leaving any time soon. Unless…James Kuntler’s prediction comes true, in which case, we may all be in trouble.
-Kevin
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In my last two posts I've looked at a couple different beaches. I would like to try to get out of the south now and look at the beach where my Grandparents live, Avalon, NJ. Unlike a lot of beach towns, Avalon has remained a true traditional neighborhood.
Avalon is located on an island (7-mile Island) in south-east New Jersey. The entire island is made up of two towns (Avalon and Stone Harbor). Although in recent years the island has become more popular with tourists, it has retained it small town feel.
As you can see in the map to the right, Avalon is organized with the traditional city block structure. All the roads are side walked and you can walk anywhere. No matter where on the island you go, you only ever a five blocks and a walk through the dunes from the ocean. The restaurants are intermingled with the houses on the blocks and very few parking spaces. There are a couple local parks that people walk to and one main street that has most of the shops.
Stone Harbor has most of the tourist traffic at it's end of the island. It has a larger main street with more shops, hotels and restaurants. Although it is slightly more busy, both Stone Harbor and Avalon have created car less, traditional neighborhoods with a homely small town feel.
-Sarah
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Previously Blake and I looked at some ocean based cities and how sprawl has affected them. I'd like to take a look at a city I'm more familiar with, Virginia Beach. One of my mom's brothers and one of my dad's brothers both live in Virginia Beach so it was always a popular vacation spot for us. Since I moved to Virginia myself in high school I took even more trips down to the beach with friends.
Looking at this picture the first thoughts that come to mind are: city, commercial, yuck.
Not really an ideal place to live in my mind but this is the commercial side of the city.
The area I'm more familiar with would be where my Uncles and their families live. However, even those areas have flaws.
My family lives in two different neighborhoods but the only visible difference between the two is the size of the houses. They both are results of the tourism sprawl. They live off one main 8-lane traffic filled road with smaller two lane roads leading to the neighborhoods. With all shopping along N. Great Neck Road (the big 8-lane road).
Although the picture of the shore is a picture of some where I would never want to live, in reality it is a better environment than the residential area of VA Beach. Everything is in walking distance on the shore. The biggest problems with VA Beach are the over crowding and getting to the shore through the residential side.
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