Let Urban be Urban and let Suburban be Suburban
"How do we focus and where do we focus our energies?" This was the question posed by Strong Towns member and urban designer Kevin Klinkenberg in his recent workshop at the Strong Towns Summit. And it's a question Kevin has been contemplating for the last decade: Is it worth attempting to retrofit suburbia for a more urban, less car-dominated lifestyle, or are we better off focusing our work in places with some existing urban fabric? How does community culture impact the possibilities for successfully building strong towns?
Watch Kevin's full presentation below to hear his answers, with plenty of visual examples from his hometown, Savannah, GA.
Kevin's recently article on our site, "Going Down the Rabbit Hole of Sprawl Repair," also explores this topic.
You can hear more from Kevin on his blog and in his book, Why I Walk.
Watch all our videos from the 2017 Summit here.
(Top photo by Johnny Sanphillippo)
Benjamin Herold, author of Disillusioned: Five Families and the Unraveling of America’s Suburbs, joins host Chuck Marohn on this week’s episode of the Strong Towns Podcast.