Characteristics of the Modern Metropolis: Sustainable Configurations of the Suburban Residential Environment

Abstract

The following is neither a criticism of the city nor of the surrounding suburbs. It is simply a realization that the role of each has changed. Old generalizations no longer apply. For example, given the question "do you live in a city?" most of us would be required to answer "yes." In fact over eighty percent of us live in metropolitan areas. But within these metropolitan areas we overwhelmingly live in portions that are "suburban" in effect or character. A more likely question "what is your city like?" will probably result in a curiously manifold answer. At some level we can all recognize that a city is a "center of population." Depending on our experiences and knowledge, however, some of us will attach to the tern "city" a connotation of "urban," seeking to distinguish it from the conditions of "suburban" and "rural" To others, "city" acts merely as a legal definition. All are correct, of course, depending on your frame of reference. In actuality, none of us live in either "the city" or "the suburbs." A strong argument can be made that we now live in a new type of city, a city that has grown beyond the political boundaries that once divided its parts. It is a city that cannot easily be described as urban or suburban. Our modem city is the metropolis. By a thorough analysis of cultural history and "city life" this project will put our modem city into proper context and begin to answer an important question. The question becomes: how does the architect design in this new type of city?