The retrofit of suburbia: The suburban house
New Urban News Technical Page by Andres Duany, Michael Morrissey, and Patrick Pinnell
The majority of America’s dwellings have been built since World War II. The very large majority of those, in turn, are suburban. Early versions of suburban houses were the smallish (by today’s standards), underaccessorized, single-family “American Dream” homes of the ‘50s and ‘60s that today are often considered substandard — even as starter houses. Not only have space expectations risen, the image of what is desirable has evolved. A half century of change now leaves a substantial portion of the postwar housing stock feeling cramped and looking spartan.
The postwar suburbs composed of such smallish houses are usually close to employment centers and benefit from short commutes. This makes them prime candidates for the teardown/McMansion replacement syndrome. Teardowns can be criticized from an environmental standpoint, and the simple substitution of bulked-up replacements ignores the question of whether that is a way to grow in the direction of more sophisticated, flexible, desirable neighborhoods. Mere growth in house volume and fanciness is often simply bling-bling and bloat. It is not true urban maturation. A better way is to consider how the succession of house types can be both environmentally superior and a step up along the Transect.
