Seeking Suburbia's Future in Its Past

A group of urban designers and architects descends on the ur-suburbia of Levittown. Alison Arieff writes that the urban academics doodled in the margins rather than serious tackle the issues raised by the suburban way of life.

1 minute read

May 9, 2011, 9:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur

Arieff goes along for the ride as Dutch design collective Droog and architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro launch a project to look at the future of suburbia, which they call the Open House project.

Writes Arieff: "But in approaching a real place as a perfect blank canvas on which to execute distinctly urban interventions, the Open House project conveniently excused itself from substantively engaging with the real issues facing suburbia's future. Which is a pity. Because it would have been interesting to see what they'd come up with if they had."

Open House interventions for 2011 are based around the concept "Discover Your Inner Service Provider", giving homeowners ways to take advantage of their excess space and resources to make extra income.

FULL STORY: Suburbia: What a Concept

Friday, May 6, 2011 in The New York Times

Community / Economic Development Land Use Humor New York Suburbia Interventions Alison Arieff View More

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