Both/and would be nice but is that the reality? In our current auto-based culture most families have no option but to own at least one automobile. A truly walkable lifestyle is either well out of the average price range or accompanied with too many unnecessary sacrifices. Walkers are often strangers in a world built for the automobile. There are very few options available to the middle-class.
Also, was not the building of the Interstate highway system a perfect example of the dictatorial government control over individuals that you attribute to smart growth planners. I often wonder what an entirely deregulated transportation structure would look like.
Dear Corbusier,
This is a good discussion of many of the issues involved with this building typolgy and the car which has formed it. What I found amazing in my research was the amount of innovation that occured in this building type as well as the amazingly beautiful examples that have occured over time.
It is the beauty of this building type that needs to be further explored as a piece of how the building type matures now working in conjunction with new more environmentally friendly vehicles such as electric cars and new movement technologies such as advanced transit. The parking garage has always been a civic building type that has connected to almost all other building types including transit and has become our entry and exit experience to our cities, towns and individual buildings. It is again honoring its important role in leading innovations in design while honoring this important civic role.
I am flattered that you decided to share your comments on my modest forum. On a current project we have been trying to design the shell of a major parking garage for a large mixed-use development. We were very fond of an old pre-art deco "motor hotel" in Denver and incorporated the concept into our scheme. The client really liked it. Still, cars are here to stay and I thought the writer who reviewed your lecturer was not being very realistic nor was he open to the challenge of designing an essential building type in modern urban life.
Thank you for defending me- however remember that in designing a parking facility the architect has to think about a great deal more than the shell. Many opportiniites to link with walking, tansit and other creative design and technical synergies are often overlooked when everyone has thier own separate narrow focus. The book shows all of these connections and interconnections and how they can enhance the project from every angle including the bottom line! This is what we as architects are best educated to do ---
A very intelligent and reasoned post. This is my first stumbling upon this blogsite. Hardly an expert in urban planning, I have been fascinated about the American urban layout historically for years. I agree with your main assertions regarding the empowering features of the automobile and how it rarely forces an 'either/or' problem. Organic cities are far better than those laid out in adherence to the strictures of urban planning fads.
Much of the hostility against the automobile I have encountered is morally infused by climate change and/or the price of oil. Yes, there other major concerns too, like traffic and creating impersonal corridors, but they do not seem to inspire the same ire. Though I might be overly optimistic regarding our energy problems, I believe we will eventually have energy in adequate supply that cars will be forever ubiquitous--even if not human driven. Indeed, new technologies beyond just powerplant might drive a very strong resurgence. Thus, they are not the problem, the internal combustion engine is. Ripping up our cities and/or engineering new ones for a post-car future seems ultimately foolish. Indeed, with so many technologies on the horizon, the major and costly retooling of our urbanscapes should be thoroughly thought out. As Alan Weisman writes in the Spring 2008 issue of Wilson Quarterly, "How can we know the what kind of infrastructure will be necessary five or 15 years from now? Can we risk building something enormously costly that might soon became obsolete?" Rather, an approach that emphasizes choices--the 'both/and' you close with--is the key to treading this uncertain path with flexibility.
Having grown up in Indianapolis, a large medium city with hardly any mass-transit to speak of, I am quite acquainted with the downsides of automobile dependence. However, driving since the first day I could legally get my license, I utterly cling to the personal freedom and personal spacce that the car bestows its driver and passengers. Having lived in cities with massive transit networks (DC, London, and, now, Buenos Aires) I also appreciate life can work quite well automobile free. Nonetheless, there are days I pine for the freedom to navigate and explore that only the car can easily grant. Sometimes one needs an escape from overcrowded subway cars to the interior of their own car.
Hopefully the thermodynamic questions will be solved in the near future.
To end on a little hyperbole:
They can have take my steering wheel and gearshift from my cold dead hands.
Again, enjoyed the post.
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