Smart Growth
CENTRAL MEXICO. I first saw the Spanish colonial town of San Miguel de Allende in 1990. As the guidebook suggested, my first view of the town came from a mirador on the hillside overlooking the town from the south. It was a charming little town of cobblestone streets and colonial buildings clustered around the parochial church on the main plaza. The old-world feel of the human scaled buildings, the walkable streets, the ideal climate, and its spectacular natural setting in the central highlands of Mexico combined to make this a truly wonderful place to spend some time.
Apparently, a lot of other people felt the same way. San Miguel is now a bustling boom town of 100,000 and growing fast. The same view overlooking the town today reveals what can only be described as urban sprawl spreading over the surrounding hillsides. The cobblestone streets of the old center are now lined with parked cars, and traffic moves at a perpetual crawl. The new outlying areas mimic American suburbia: the residential areas are mostly insular, while the main roads are lined with modern retail and commercial development.
Many would argue that this change has been for the better, and this is in some respects true. We are all taught that growth and economic development are desirable. San Miguel has been able to parlay its reputation as an artist colony and retirement haven into a land rush by upper class Mexicans and American expatriates alike. Property values have increased dramatically, as have the expectations of quality in the offerings of the stores and restaurants, with prices to match.
Overall, my impressions during this most recent trip to several of the old colonial "silver cities" of Mexico helped to bring into sharp focus many of the issues of urban growth we face in Houston and the rest of the U.S. The old colonial centers are precisely what the proponents of new urbanism are espousing: a rich urban vitality of people living, working, shopping, and playing within the same human scaled environment. Yet even the culture which has this as an example seems unable to duplicate it in modern development.
The reasons for this are complex and subtle. Our current models of development do not fit the old mold very well. Modern economies of scale, high traffic densities, large volume truck deliveries, and the efficiencies of large, uniform developments simply cannot be overlaid on the urban fabric of most historic centers without colliding with the traditional values of community and public space. Although the best hotels in these towns typically face the main plazas, anyone who has tried to get a good night's rest in one of their rooms will quickly appreciate why land use zoning gained a strong following in the twentieth century.
The related themes of smart growth and livable communities are beginning to attract widespread attention. Expect them to be major issues in the next presidential election. They tie together all of the major themes that define our contemporary social consciousness: quality of life, environmental concerns, and the growing alienation from the sense of a larger community.
We as architects are uniquely positioned to play a key role as this debate evolves. We are already designers of the built environment; by extending our reach into public policy, we can influence the larger forces shaping our cities. It's a challenge that, quite simply, has to be met.
James Hill, AIA
