The Genius of Traditional Development

Graeme Sharpe, writing for Urban Indy, has a great post contemplating the genius of traditional buildings:

Have you ever been to a old downtown and marveled at the historic buildings? Have you ever wondered how they could create such beautiful buildings on such small budgets, compared to the placeless architecture we are told is barely affordable today?

This is really an analysis of traditional building patterns and typologies rather than an exploration of style, but it is right on. His “recipe” for traditional development is this:

1. Leverage small investments
2. Share with your neighbors (the advantages of party wall construction)
3. Build up, not out (a celebration of incrementalism with a critique of minimum parking requirements)

The focus on incremental, small investment growth that empowers citizens to participate in the development process is part of what allowed the rich, vibrant neighborhoods of historic districts to develop their unique character. One of the worst results of our current development patterns is the elimination of the small developer. Typical middle class individuals can’t build their own houses in neighborhoods and business owners can’t build their small commercial building and lease out the upstairs (either as office space or apartments) because the system is stacked against them. Between the onerous review processes with associated fees, the sprawling infrastructure, and the zoning/planning of our cities, this vibrant class of small time developer doesn’t really exist. Instead we have vast swaths of residential “communities” with a monoculture of style and amenities and large strip retail centers built by the same developer of the one a few miles down the road. Our places suffer from this consolidation of decision making both aesthetically and functionally. Small, incremental growth is more interesting, more resilient, more efficient, and more democratic.