Sunday, April 24, 2011

New Urbanism in Memphis and Atlanta


Twice I read Derek Merrill & Beau B. Beza's essay in Refractory: a Journal of Entertainment Media. The writers utilize the concept of the "screen" to explore Atlantic Station development in Atlanta, Georgia. Atlantic Station is a environmental urban brownfield redevelopment and reclamation of the 100-year-old Atlantic Steel Mill requiring the removal of 9,000 dump truck loads of contaminated soil. The 138-acres are divided into three zone: mixed use outdoor shopping mall with 6 million SF of office highrise space, mid-rise apartments surrounding a wetland and the IKEA store. Due to the terrain and earth removal, all the public parking is below ground providing much more flexibility in pedestrian space design.  
I wrote Merrill and Beza that the screen was a poor choice of words to assist with the analysis. It was a forced metaphor regarding the spatial conception. I visit as many new urbanist places as possible to understand them. The designers conceive these developments as a series of territorial types, which are set next to each other. Each territory has an aesthetic heart (round, linear or grid) that is defined with building facades. 


Harbor Town, Mud Island, Memphis, Tenn.,photo by ilovememphis

more articles about New Urbanism:

New Urbanism and Planning History: Back to the Future

New Urbanism Now: Catching up with Andrés Duany

In Markham, the dream of an urban village that never was

New Urbanism: A Salve or Bane to Urban Wounds?

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