- Better connectivity. Suburban housing is reputed to consist of disconnected cul-de-sacs and isolated subdivisions, and such has been the new urbanist critique. This view is true of later suburbs, but the streets in early postwar housing neighborhoods are mostly connected. Blocks are a bigger and streets more curved than in cities, but at least they link up. A lack of street connections is a huge barrier to the retrofit of later suburbs.
- Narrower, more walkable streets. The supersizing of streets in America was gradual and affects the walkability of later suburbs tremendously. Retrofitting these streets will be expensive. The postwar residential streets, however, are generally built to a scale that supports walking and bicycling. Some have sidewalks and some do not. Narrow streets with slow, low-volume traffic are often walkable without sidewalks. Postwar neighborhoods mostly need destinations to walk and bike to.
- Closer to downtown. The postwar neighborhoods are in inner-ring suburbs that are closer to jobs and transit than are later suburbs. The close-in location will affect real estate values and help to attract investment. Nelson argues that suburbs built before 1980 will hold their value better than those built after 1980. Post-2000 suburbs, he predicts, will have little or no market even in the fastest-growing regions.
- Inclusion of low-value commercial strips. This may not seem like an asset, but these 1950s-era commercial strips are ripe for redevelopment and revitalization into mixed-use places. Their low value reduces barriers to redevelopment.
- Rich in small-lot housing. Postwar suburbs contain much of the nation’s supply of small-lot single-family housing. Nelson and other market analysts find that America is oversupplied in large-lot housing and will be for decades to come. Multifamily and small-lot housing are undersupplied. Suburbs that revive are likely to be those with small-lot and multifamily housing — the latter could be added to postwar neighborhoods as low-value commercial strips are redeveloped.
- Demographic appeal. Millennials and Gen Xers with children may not want to live in cities due to considerations like schools, but they still want walkable environments. Postwar suburbs are increasingly diverse racially and economically, and that is also appealing to these groups. If they can be made walkable, the appeal could be strong. Baby Boomers, living in these neighborhoods, want active living as they retire. Walkable, mixed-use centers would enable them to retire in place.
- They are everywhere. America grew so fast during the first 20 years after World War II that nearly every metropolitan region has a plentiful supply of postwar housing.
- Incremental development opportunities. Redevelopment of shopping malls into town centers such as Belmar in Lakewood, Colorado, or Mizner Park in Boca Raton, Florida, required visionary developers with access to significant capital. Postwar commercial strips can be rebuilt incrementally in a series of smaller projects.
- Potential for combining suburban and urban qualities. Postwar suburbs have yards, single-family houses, and great tree canopies. The redevelopment of commercial strips could bring urban, mixed-use qualities as well. That’s an appealing combination.
- Existing assets. Postwar suburbs have had 60 years in which to mature, create quality civic assets like parks and schools, and develop cultural institutions. Redevelopment builds on these assets and there is no need to create them from scratch — as new urban greenfield developments have done.
AND ONE BONUS REASON:
- On-street parking. These neighborhoods have plentiful, underutilized, on-street parking. This resource is useful when adding infill apartments and accessory units.
BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION
Follow @betterburb