Community Growth: Crisis and Challenge

Via Atlantic Cities, an interesting film from 1959 exploring the implications for sprawl... from the National Association of Home Builders and the Urban Land Institute.  I particularly like the diagrams of the monocentric city towards polycentric city form in post WWII United States. 



The solutions include planned unit developments, cluster developments, townhouses, culs-de-sac, separation of auto and pedestrian uses, loop streets, and circular streets are mentioned - all of which had/have merit - but are not a silver bullet to fix issues.  Interestingly, have we actually come very far in the last 50+ years?  Can planning solve these issues?  As summed up in patriotic fervor:

"Planning alone is not the final answer to the crisis of our land.  But without wise and far-sighted planning, there can be no answers.  How wisely, or wastefully, we use the heritage of our land, is not solely the responsibility of the planner, the developer, the builder, the community official.  It is the responsibility of all of us, who are the American community."

The solution - more research.  Some things never change.