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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It remains to be seen whether RTC or Tysons, or White Flint will be retrofitted properly.  Everything we've seen up until this point has shown that they're incapable of executing.  Also,[b] it's a bit of a fallacy to think that tomorrow's "biotech execs" are going to be as enamored of McMansions and sprawl as today's Baby Boomers are[/b]. [/quote]

Retrofitted properly? Not sure what that means, but RTC seems pretty nice to me an the revitalized downtown Silver Spring seems to be doing it right. It's got a Metro stop, Discovery is headquartered there, lots of restaurants, diverse types and price ranges of housing and a nice mix of ethnicities. You may be right about people being over sprawl, but [b]the reason sprawl developed in the first place was peoples' desire for a comfortable environment.[/b] I question whether that desire will be any less pronounced in the future, even if the cost of attaining it becomes higher.
[/quote]Not trying to take a side in suburbs vs city debate but I must point out that the reason sprawl developed was because government policies encouraged the growth of suburbs.  There's a reason that some European cities have wonderful downtowns and poor suburbs whereas it's the reverse in many US cities.  Didn't happen by accident or nature but by government policy.  I'm not criticizing you, pp.  Just trying to point out that we often assume that develop patterns were "natural" when actually they are the result of clear government policies.[/quote]

And, of course, it's interesting that the most influential policies that European governments intentionally pushed during the 70s and 80s that the US is going to experience over the coming decades:  specifically high fuel costs, and the attendant change in the way we do logistics.

As far as the meaning of "retrofitted properly", there are good ways and bad ways to do urbanism.  While the planners understand that things need to change, and that growth needs to be pushed inward to the transit-accessible nodes, they've still got to get past suburban voters:  who are mostly NIMBYs, love ample parking, and in general, will always push for policies that undercut the execution of the smart-growth planning.

Folks who understand and desire walkable communties are moving into urban areas:  DC, Philly, Chicago, etc...  People move to the suburbs because they largely want a "convenient" suburban experience.  When push comes to shove, you can *always* count on suburban voters to do the wrong thing when it comes to urbanist design.[/quote]

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