New American Urbanism: Re-forming the Suburban Metropolis

By John A. Dutton Skira Architecture Library, Milano 2000. 223 pp., Softcover: $29.95. Just a cursory glance at this book reveals that John Dutton has put together a worthy successor to Peter Katz’ seminal The New Urbanism, published seven years ago. The illustrations alone — color and black and white photos, project plans, regional plans, renderings — make this volume an essential catalogue of current new urbanist practice. And whereas Katz’ book presented new urbanist theory and practice from the inside, including essays by several of the founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism, New American Urbanism reads as a more objective exploration of the movement. The title and the fact that the book is put out by an Italian publisher suggest that this is an undertaking with international scope. Dutton, an architect and urban designer from Los Angeles, may not be a complete outsider — he trained for a period in the offices of Moule & Polyzoides in Pasadena — but in his writing he comes across as a keen observer who asks: What are these American new urbanists reacting to? How do they fit in with other architectural movements of the 20th century, and how do they accomplish their goals? As Dutton writes, the purpose of the book “is to explain and demonstrate this work, not through projects, but through a critical narrative of themes.” He leads the reader through the new urbanist critique of and response to current development practices, to the methodologies and practical application of new urbanist principles. The book features thorough discussions of typology, styles, and codes, as well as the latest in new urbanist design in infill and greenfield locations. Furthermore, general discussion is consistently fleshed out by concrete examples of projects in planning or under construction. Historical contexts At every turn, Dutton makes connections to the past: to the town planners that have inspired the new urbanists and to the modernist movements and organizations that went before them. The New Urbanism is frequently presented as the antithesis of modernism, but Dutton maintains that the movement is, ironically, “a resurrection of modernism, but cloaked in the dress of the pre-modern era.” In his view, the New Urbanism has deliberately reduced modernism to “the monumental urban follies” exemplified by Le Corbusier’s utopian cities in order to further its own agenda and distinguish itself from its predecessors. Dutton notes that the modernist organization CIAM (Congres Inter-nationaux d’Architecture Moderne) held beliefs about the power of design to transform society similar to those espoused by the Congress of the New Urbanism (CNU) today. A major difference between the two movements, Dutton notes, is that CNU works from the bottom up, working on localized projects, interacting with residents and local officials, and rewriting codes and ordinances. New American Urbanism will undoubtedly provide fodder for the continuing discussion between new urbanists and the architectural establishment of the academy. On the visual level, Dutton’s firm footing in architectural history gives the reader some enlightening glimpses of the work by 19th and 20th century urbanists. The juxtaposition of Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen’s aerial renderings from the 1910s with views of new urbanist towns, for example, shows clearly how contemporary town planners have been inspired by the past. redefining the project To Dutton, one of the most important accomplishments of the new urbanist movement has been to reframe the architectural project to include analytical research, coding, feasibility studies, strategic plans, and sophisticated implementation strategies. This has set a precedent for a much wider group of professionals to engage in the complexities of urban planning. Dutton writes that building communities for a diverse population — in terms of age, race, and income — may be the most important goal of new urbanists, but notes that it is the “one that so far has been relatively difficult to attain.” One problem, according to Dutton, is that many new urbanist project renderings depict a sense of instant tradition, the so-called “good life” of playing children and strolling adults. “This is difficult ideological territory to tread, for it is easy to default to a conception of [the suburb] that does not reflect the complexity and diversity of today’s suburban population,” he writes. Ultimately, however, Dutton leaves the reader with a sense that the New Urbanism has the required scope and depth to transform our regions, cities, and neighborhoods. He does not shy away from discussing the many criticisms of the movement and convincingly refutes them in many instances. Dutton himself, however, suspends judgement. He is well aware that it will take decades before the claims of most new urbanist projects can be fairly assessed, and he notes that new urbanist towns “will evolve beyond the control of their creators as they are emulated, diluted, and subsumed by the larger momentum of American and international land development.” The last third of the book features reprints from the Lexicon by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co., and contains several case studies, covering Portland’s 2040 regional plan, plans for the redevelopment of downtown Charleston and Albuquerque, and two international projects from Germany and the Philippines. While these studies might have delved a bit deeper, the overall recommendation remains: New American Urbanism belongs on the shelf of every new urbanist practitioner.