Comment 17902

By Trey (registered) | Posted February 01, 2008 at 10:11:08

Good article Ted....

I have one issue with a certain phrase. "human-scale design". This is probably the worst terminology/coined-phrase to explain what new urbanism is trying to develop. For lack of a better term, I refuse to use this term when making an argument for 'human-scale' architecture. Why? The 'term' will stop the conversation dead in its tracks because it doesn't mean anything to anyone or it can mean so many things to everyone that its meaning is lost.

The problem I have with housing in general in NA is that we basically have 4 choices from the current home builders' business models. 1. Single-detached 2. Semi-detached 3. Apartment (condo or rent ownership makes no difference) 4. Townhouse ... and the choices from these 4 options are very limited. They are pretty much the same in every city across Can/US. And to make the matter worse, they define a class of people... the wealthy or the apparently wealthy live in the detached home etc… and become upset when townhouses or apartments are planned to built near them. Eg. The Scenic debate. The snobs think the poor will be moving in, because a builder is building townhouses.

The other problem I have with the anti-high-rise argument or anything over 6 floors is there is no difference living on the 6th floor or the 26th floor... other than how long your elevator ride is. And the street doesn't appear different if it is walled by 6-floor buildings or 26-floor buildings.... unless your walking with your head looking up.

If the term ‘Human-scale’ is ever adopted by the home-building industry will be used to their advantage to continue builidng low-density sprawl. I can see their adverts now... "Live next to parkland in a human-scale neighbourhood". Most of these so-called neighbourhoods today, lack all the amenities and planning to make them anywhere close to a real neighbourhood... but that doesn’t stop them from calling them ‘neighbourhoods’. The houses face-backwards, the living space is congregated at the rear of the house looking onto a private walled-in backyard, no front porches, most of the windows face the backyard, the streets are muddy for 10 years, strewn with debris from the houses under current construction. and if you happen to purchase the very last lost backing onto glorious ‘greenspace’, the next "Phase" is started, to make you feel like you're living in a construction zone for 15 years of your life... unless you gather at the back of your house and look onto your lovely green unused backyard with privacy fence to make sure you never see a neighbour in your 'neighbourhood'.

Human-scale is the next term to be bastardized. Some developers have already co-opted the term ‘new urbanism’. So-called new urbanism development the Markham/Richmond Hill area are as car dependent as Mississauga’s City Centre.

Lastly... Human-scale also implies wasted land for so-called 'greenspace' that has no function except to further spread the destinations and make car use more likely. Leave the 'green' stuff in nature and build the urban stuff in the city. The little shrubbery buffers and patches of landscaping don't make people feel like they're in nature and often collect blowing garbage and need chemicals to keep the unnatural nature alive.

What is human-scale? Manhattan and the boulevards of Paris are built extremely different. Try to find one thing in common with these two urban areas, but these are both ‘human-scaled’. If we are going to communicate, educate or make awareness to what it is we are trying to advocate for… we need better terminology. Perhaps dropping the terminology all together and just say what we’re trying to say.

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