Reburbia, a recent competition sponsored by Dwell and Inhabitat, had architects, developers and engineers re-envisioning suburbia, that place often characterized by cul-de-sacs, tract houses and generic shopping centers. It’s tempting to drool over suburbia’s perks—like increased space, larger homes and less crime—and popular to frown at its aggregate impact—sprawl, congestion and environmental degradation. But with all of its luminous promise and ominous shadow, suburbia sometimes seems like the modern manifest destiny.
Reburbia set out to generate ideas about how to respond to the looming consequences of suburban growth and provide future solutions to the problems of density and inefficiency. The grand prize went to a design called “Frog’s Dream: McMansions Turned into Biofilter Water Treatment Plants,” by Calvin Chiu. “Frog’s Dream” replaces vacant suburbs with man-made wetlands and transforms abandoned homes into “living machines for water cleansing.” Among their many benefits, wetlands are very good at keeping pollutants out of receiving waters and filtering sediment and other undesirable chemicals. The design would also combat future droughts and wetland destruction caused by climate change.
The second-place design, called “Entrepreneurbia,” tackles some of the policy issues that exacerbate sprawl and its effects. “Entrepreneurbia” would reform zoning laws that separate commercial and residential areas in order to create self-sustaining communities that promote small businesses within and around neighborhoods and reduce or eliminate commutes and congestion.
“Big Box Agriculture,” the third-place design, would turn abandoned parking lots into farms and the adjoining retail buildings into greenhouse-restaurant combinations. The idea intends to reduce the gaps between producer, retailer and consumer. Shoppers could wander through the farm with shopping carts and take their harvest home or to the restaurant.
The People’s Choice Award went to the designer of the “Urban Sprawl Repair Kit,” which created a framework for retrofitting five building archetypes typical of suburbia. This design would re-purpose existing structures, such as turning a strip mall into a recycling center. It would also use infill structures to optimize the space around suburban structures with large setbacks and parking lots.
Other creative ideas submitted to Reburbia range from airship transportation systems to wind turbines that replace freeway signage and draw upon the wind generated by passing cars. Reburbia is a reminder that creative solutions to our pressing problems can be practical, poetic and possible.
