Case Study 5.4
Has Suburban Sprawl lost its
Sizzle?
“Today suburban sprawl does not have the same sizzle it once had, and development is moving back to the inner city because our freeways our congested, fuel costs have skyrocketed, environmental pollution is increasing, and our forests are being paved with concrete to build new roads and subdivisions. All of these factors are contributing to an unsustainable growth model for our future.�
Has Suburban Sprawl Lost its
Sizzle?
Typical Houston Freeway
There is a paradigm shift occurring in the urbanization patterns of large American cities from coast to coast. Throughout the 20th century, suburban sprawl has become a way of life and, in turn, created the gargantuan metropolis many of us call home. Our cities have become cumbersome to navigate and their infrastructure costly to maintain. Our love affair with the automobile has driven development to the suburbs for cheaper land and lower cost housing. Today suburban sprawl does not have the same sizzle it once had, and development is moving back to the inner city because our freeways our congested, fuel costs have skyrocketed, environmental pollution is increasing, and our forests are being paved with concrete to build new roads and subdivisions. All of these factors are contributing to an unsustainable growth model for our future.
Big Changes Ahead
01 Catalyst, located in Houston’s Central Business District, is both one block from Minute Maid Park and the light rail system.
According to Brookings Institute, the US population is expected to increase 33 percent by 2030 to more than 376 million Americans; and an increase of 94 million people since 2000. With this substantial growth, can we expect urban areas across America to perpetuate the suburban sprawl model? My opinion is no, and I believe the future will
02 Hines Market Square will form an active part of the downtown streetscape.
prove to be unkind to the suburban sprawl model that exists today. In addition to gridlock snarling our freeways, there is also a major demographic shift occurring in our population
03 According to a recent study, nearly 40% of Houstonians own a bicycle and more than half of those responding expressed a desire to
that is a catalyst for inner city urbanization. Today, there are 25 million empty nesters over the age of 60 in America. Close behind there is a ground swell of 85 million Baby Boomers that are moving into the empty nest category. Boomers make up a large portion of the market segment whose attitudes about lifestyle are changing as they approach the empty nest phase. There is a strong desire by many people in this particular age
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group to live near the arts, entertainment, sports venues and restaurant scenes offered by inner city living. At the same time, the empty nesters are also looking to downsize their residence for reasons of lower maintenance, heightened security and the freedom to travel at a moment’s notice. Similarly, Generation X and Generation Y prefer the inner city for the same reasons and are placing an increasing demand on higher density development in the inner city as well.
Urban Growth in Houston Looking ahead, Houston, Texas stands out as a city that will grow at a more accelerated rate than the rest of the country. Houston has bragging rights for explosive job growth and being host to the largest medical center in the world, the energy capital of the world
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and the second largest port in North America. Currently, there are over 150,000 commuters working in the Central Business District and 80,000 commuters working in the Texas Medical Center. Commute times to and from work have doubled over the last twenty years for those living in suburban areas. In addition, our suburban communities, which are organized around cul-de-sac street systems fed by major feeder streets, are now congested during rush hour traffic only adding to driver frustration to be home with family and friends. Sprawl has placed stress on our quality time, which is arguably our most precious resource and the one commodity that money cannot buy. How can we begin to rethink and simplify an urban development strategy to address a better quality of life?
Urban Density
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Compared to other US cities, and more dense urban areas in Europe, Houston is in the very infancy of urbanization. Little known to Houstonians is the extent to which the boundaries of our metropolitan area have haphazardly expanded. The Houston metropolitan area comprises a whopping 5,436 square miles. The Houston city limits encompass 1,100 square miles, which equates to an urban density of roughly 1.7 persons per acre, well under other cities of comparable size. Houston’s abundance of raw land may still be a frontier for developers to build more single family homes, but also represents an irresponsible and unsustainable development pattern. In contrast, you will find that urban density in other major US and European cities compare as follows:
Sustainable Growth Strategies 200 Urban 200 Typical 200 High-End Condos Suburban Homes Suburban Homes Development Acres One acre 50-70 acres 220-230 acres Landscape Irrigation
Zero gal/yr
15 M gal/yr
40 M gal/yr
Electricity $60/month $100-300/month $250-500/month Tax Value $80M-150M/acre $700k-1.2M/acre $1.5M/acre
The comparison reveals a staggering 15 million - 40 million gallons per year of landscape water usage for a 200-home single family development, versus zero gallons per year landscape water usage for a 200-unit urban condo development utilizing a rainwater collection system. Equally staggering is the consumption of 50- 230 acres of
“It is increasingly unrealistic to think
land for 200 suburban homes, versus one acre for a 200-unit urban condo development.
that our municipalities
It is increasingly unrealistic to think that our municipalities can continue to afford the
can continue to
escalating infrastructure cost of low-density suburban sprawl.
afford the escalating infrastructure cost of low-density suburban sprawl.�
High-Density Developments It is time to rethink our urban development models and come up with solutions that are ecologically, economically and socially sustainable; and at the same time, respond to the global urgency to reduce greenhouse gases. For the first time, we are beginning to recognize the inefficiencies of suburban sprawl and realize that Houston is just at the beginning of a higher density urban growth
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period. We can no longer afford to maintain an urban density of 1.7 persons per acre. To have a meaningful impact, a sustainable growth strategy must go beyond adding up LEED points for individual buildings to be certified by the US Green Building Council, but rather, it must be part of a broader development strategy for an entire community that addresses quality of life and the physical environment. In my opinion, our municipalities must begin to look at responsible high density mixed-use growth models which have tangible
benefits to its residents. At the metropolitan scale, mixed-use developments make it easier for people to access jobs, affordable housing, shopping, entertainment and convenient transportation. High density mixed-use developments conserve land and create more green space, parks and contribute to the public realm, all of which reduce the carbon footprint and vehicle miles traveled by the creation of walkable communities. Most people are under the false perception that higher density developments create more regional traffic congestion and parking problems than lower density developments. The fact of the matter is that higher density development generates less traffic than low density development by making walking and public transit more feasible and creating more opportunity for shared parking.
Density per Acre City Area Square Miles Persons/Acre Paris 185 91 Rome 110 39 New York 368 30 Boston 51 17.2 Chicago 228 21 San Francisco 45 23.5 Los Angeles 465 9.7 Houston 1,100 1.7
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04 The Austonian helped to transform Downtown Austin into a denser, more walkable urban realm.
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05 Hines Market Square will sit at the edge of Market Square Park, within walking distance of bars, restaurants and entertainment venues. 06 Preston Hollow Village is a new pedestrian-friendly micro-village in Dallas, Texas. 07 One Lake’s Edge is a mixed-use microvillage on Lake Woodlands.
The Micro-Village As an alternative to suburban sprawl, the natural evolution in the urbanization process of US cities is to create inviting urban village environments that provide a distinctive sense of place and characterized by a strong residential base constructed at a garden district scale of six to seven stories. The micro-village consists of the full spectrum of uses including housing, office, retail, restaurants, recreation, entertainment and grocery stores. In essence, the micro-village is a high density mixed-use development that takes the form of an urban community where people prefer to walk in attractive pedestrian environments appointed with outdoor cafés, park space, public plazas and tree-lined promenades. As we look at the creation of high density mixed-use developments, we have the opportunity to provide authentic community environments that encourage people to gather with friends. Starbucks founder and CEO, Howard Schultz, calls this “the third place,” a place to relax and socialize between work and home, and a place to buy a cup of coffee with friends or enjoy an al fresco dining experience. Our challenge in creating inviting micro-village
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communities will be to provide affordable housing to serve all income levels in order to
“As our cities become
establish healthy urban environments. A critical mass of high density housing will support
more urbanized, great
development of office space and promote a healthy retail base, which becomes the core
outdoor spaces with cafes,
of the micro-village. That said, it takes a strong vision and a measured development effort to have a successful result. High density housing is key to the success of active pedestrian
tree-lined boulevards,
environments. Recent examples of micro-village developments in Houston include City
plazas and parks become
Centre, Uptown Park, Post Midtown and West Ave. Successful micro-village communities
the humanizing elements
are infused with a vibrant urban life that is a more entertaining and engaging alternative
that enrich our urban fabric.”
to our auto dependent suburban lifestyle. What each of these micro-villages have in common is the creation of a public realm, or a place for people to gather and socialize with family and friends.
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Urban Fabric As our cities become more urbanized, great outdoor spaces with cafes, tree-lined boulevards, plazas, public fountains and pocket parks become the humanizing elements that enrich our urban fabric. In Houston, where we have no zoning, it seems quite contradictory that our public spaces, for the most part, are shaped by private hands. As Winston Churchill stated, “first we shape our buildings, and then our buildings shape us.” Over time, individual buildings become the fabric of our cities and the spaces between buildings become the public realm arrayed into a network of pedestrian spaces. Even in the absence of zoning, private enterprise can create attractive mixed-use projects with great public spaces that enrich the public realm and, at the same time, demonstrate a sustainable urban development alternative to suburban sprawl. History has taught us that
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08 Gables Park Plaza is contributing to the revitalization of Austin’s core. Restaurants spill out onto the public plaza with outdoor dining and views of the park and Town Lake beyond. 09 The arrival sequence of Gables Park Plaza incorporates residential, restaurant and retail, which enhance the district as a walkable destination.
a city’s greatness is measured in large part by the quality of its art, architecture and urban environment; therefore, before us lies an enormous opportunity to meet this challenge. Let us reclaim the development direction of our cities and make a more richly designed urban fabric become the new sizzle!
“As an alternative to suburban sprawl, the natural evolution in the urbanization of American cities is to create inviting urban environments or micro-villages that provide a distinctive sense of place.”
10 The Sovereign is the first phase of Regent Square, an urban, mixeduse walkable community that will occupy 24 acres off of Allen Parkway near Downtown Houston. 11 The 290-unit luxury residential tower features 21 stories of panoramic views the most extensive residential amenity program in Houston.
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ABOUT the AUTHOR Founding Principal, Scott Ziegler, AIA, is a recognized authority and thought leader in the multi-family industry, as well as a frequent guest speaker. Mr. Ziegler’s visionary leadership, insight and comprehensive knowledge of the profession have led his firm to design award winning projects that have garnered regional and national recognition. Multi-family Executive Design Awards recognized Ziegler Cooper’s design of The Austonian as a Grand Award Winner for Project of the Year (High-Rise: Condos) and as a Merit Award Winner for Project of the Year (Green). Multi-Housing News Design Excellence Awards program recognized The Austonian for Best New Development, High-Rise and Highland Tower with Best New Development High Rise (Silver). With over 30 years of experience, Ziegler is adept in providing design direction to his clients in the form of density studies, developing appropriate unit mix, unit design, lifestyle demographics, amenity packages, interior design and insight into future design trends. Contact: sziegler@zieglercooper.com | 713.374.0008
Ziegler Cooper 700 Louisiana, Suite 350 Houston, Texas 77002 713.374.0000 www.zieglercooper.com