In recent
weeks, I’ve written about a daytrip I took to several Northern California
cities. I was looking for urbanism
insights to be gleaned during quick visits.
Today I’ll write about my last stop.
After the big box misdirection in Woodland, the ill-conceived environmental priorities
in North Highlands, and the misallocation of
resources in Carmichael, I thought I’d seen the
worst. I was wrong. Failed execution on a large scale is even more
painful.
Laguna West was among early darlings of the
new urbanism movement. Conceived in 1990,
it was intended to show the world that urbanist principles could be met even in
a post-World War II world that directed all of its incentives toward drivable
sprawl.
With a
conceptual plan that was developed by Peter Calthorpe and his fledgling Calthorpe
Associates, a firm that was to have a long and illustrious history in urbanist
theorizing, Laguna West could have become a model for later urbanists to meet
and to exceed.
But the plan
went awry.
It’s not completely
clear what happened. Although barely two
decades old, the fall of Laguna West came before the full blossoming of the
internet which documents so many of our missteps and miscalculations. So we’re left to interpret from the shadows
on the wall.
Perhaps
Calthorpe was still refining his thinking.
Perhaps it was the reduced involvement of Calthorpe during execution of the
plan. Perhaps it was the influence of
financiers who were uncomfortable with new ideas. Perhaps it was the decision by regional
authorities to not extend light rail into Laguna West. Perhaps it was a combination of all of those
factors. But the result is a project
that looks different than its neighbors, but not nearly as different as it could
have and should have.
The use of
alleys and the resulting absence of driveways is probably the most striking
difference. But the weakness of the
public realm failed to create an active life on the streets. Some of the streets have creative street tree
placements, softening the hard lines of the streets, but the rights-of-way are
lined by concrete block walls, sucking any attraction from the setting. Many of the homes appear well-built, but some
neighborhoods are prematurely showing their age. Overall, Laguna West failed to have the spark
that good urbanism should display.
Perhaps the clearest
evidence of the shortfall was the sterile and unattractive retail area at the
north end of
Laguna West. It lacks
vitality and is far beyond a comfortable walk for most residents.
My
perception of Laguna West was further tainted by the route I took to reach
it. The development lies on the north
end of Elk Grove, between Highway 99 and I-5.
Not knowing any better, I took 99 to reach it. Indeed, the exit from 99 is called Laguna
Boulevard after the project. But Laguna
Boulevard has been corrupted by the drivable suburban mode that has swallowed
the comfortable small-town Elk Grove that I remember from youth. The street is six car-dedicated lanes of
mind-numbing service to every big box and chain restaurant ever conceived.
The failure
of Laguna West has had repercussions.
Opponents of new urbanism have used it as an example of why urbanism doesn’t work. Their arguments are flawed, failing to
recognize that the urbanist ideals of Laguna West were derailed before
construction, but they nonetheless use the project as a talking point.
The initial developer
of Laguna West, during a later run for California governor, was criticized for the failings of Laguna West,
attacks that were probably unfair but still left an impression.
In a 2006 San
Francisco article, reprinted on the Calthorpe Associates website, Calthorpe
acknowledged the failing of Laguna West, but tried to put a positive spin on
it. “His optimistic take is that
progress is a gradual thing. Developers and buyers are more comfortable now
with a type of suburbia that is different from the 1950s norm.
"’There's
no such thing as instant community, but you can build the right foundation,’ he
argued at breakfast. "’What we're seeing is way better than the template
it replaced. Given time it will be as rich and diverse and complex as all the
places we love.’"
I agree that
Laguna West was a step in the right direction, but it was a halting, stumbling
step when a bold, confident step would have better served our future. I’m not assigning blame. I don’t think there was a villain. Instead, it was a combination of failed
vision and business-as-usual that undermined what could have been a milestone.
My
disheartening tour of Laguna West complete, I was ready to head home. My Northern California tour was done. Suisun City remained the only highlight. It was a somber drive home to the North Bay. This urbanism thing seems so logical and
right, but is so easily led astray.
As always,
your questions or comments will be appreciated.
Please comment below or email me.
And thanks for reading. - Dave Alden (davealden53@comcast.net)
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