Andrés Duany is the cofounder of the Congress for the New Urbanism and is considered one of the most influential architects and urban planners in the world today, along with his partner Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk.   He established the New Urbanism design movement, which looks to return to higher density, walkable neighborhoods that are close to jobs, shopping and leisure activities.  His latest work involves applying innovative planning techniques like the Urban Transect Theory and SmartCode, a form-based zoning code.   

Background

After beginning his career in modernist high-rise design, Duany came to reject postwar architecture and development practices.

It was beyond evident that most of the suburban and urban communities planned in the latter half of the twentieth century were an embarrassment.   Instead, he looked to eras in the past, particularly the early twentieth century, that had created some of the most livable and functional urban design that the world had seen.  Duany was one of the first to put into practice a return to traditional design.  

Andréa Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk now run the design firm Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, based in Miami but with regional offices in Charlotte and Washington.   They have designed communities ranging in size from 10 to 10,000 acres throughout the United States as well as internationally.  Through their company, they are able to apply innovative design principles that are key to the success of each project.  The firm is also rewriting the zoning code for the entire city of Miami. [1]  

As a leader in his field, Duany is highly sought-after as a speaker and consultant.  He frequently appears in the national media, particularly in stories on the changing face of American suburbia.   

Seaside and New Urbanism

Duany burst onto the national scene with the success of Seaside, Florida — a built-from-scratch beach town that left generic housing developments in the dust.  Considered the first New Urbanist development, Seaside was a model for neighborhood appearance, form and walkability while incorporating higher housing densities than other suburban subdivisions.

Urban Transect Theory and SmartCode

Even when New Urbanist principles are followed, most new residential neighborhoods remain disconnected and car-dependent, as “modernist planning grimly hangs on” [2]  to any attempt to do something different.   As a solution to the isolated and pod-like nature of real estate development, Andrés Duany formulated a planning philosophy called the Urban Transect Theory based on historic arrangements of cities, towns and countryside. The Transect is the natural gradient from urban to rural to natural landscapes that can be observed in settlement patterns all over the world.  Because “urbanism occurs across a spectrum from urban center to rural wilderness” [3], zoning ordinances should incorporate this arrangement.  

Much of Duany’s recent work involves applying the Transect theory as a formal zoning technique called SmartCode..  An alternative to conventional suburban zoning, SmartCode mandates a gradient of housing densities from downtown core to neighborhood outskirts.  If applied correctly, it should create a friendly environment for pedestrians and cyclists, free of parking lots, curb cuts and high-speed roads.  SmartCode is a form-based code, as opposed to a use-based code.  

Petaluma, California was one of the first towns in the United States to employ SmartCode.

­ In Duany’s Words

- “What is causing global warming is the lifestyle of the American middle class.  It's terrible for nature and for humans." [4]

- “Despite being implemented through a careful protocol that engages all the specialists, the communities that result are not properly blended. Each profession is permitted to impose its perquisites, with the result typically being a collection of urban elements rather than urbanism itself.” [2]  -- Duany on modernist planning

- “Before World War II, when a green field was lost, a hamlet, village or town was gained.  It was an even trade.  But today when an open space is built on, a housing subdivision, a shopping center or a business park replaces it. “ [5]

- “Greening tends to create, not the most livable cities, it tends to create suburbia. This is obvious to anyone that has attempted to design an authentic urban fabric while following current environmental standards.” [2]

- "...The Transect proved to be extensible to the human habitat, as every component of urbanism also finds a place within a continuous rural-to-urban gradient.  For example, a street is more urban than a road, a raised curb more urban than a swale, a brick wall more urban than shingled one, an allee of trees more urban than a cluster.” [2]

ALSO ON THE LIVABLE STREETS NETWORK

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REFERENCES

Each source is referred to by the same number every time it is cited. Please keep citation style consistent.

[1] Duany Plater-Zyberk and Company.

[2] Introduction to the Special Issue Dedicated to the Transect (Draft-pdf).  Journal of Urban Design.

[3] A Conversation with Andrés Duany.  Katarxis Journal.

[4] How Green is Your Neighborhood?  Time,   December 19, 2007.

[5] A New Theory of Urbanism.  Scientific American.  December 2000

 

PICTURE REFERENCES

Pictures are cited in the order they appear above. Please keep citation style consistent.

[1] Dean Terry / Flickr

[2]

 

FURTHER READING

• SmartCode Central.  DPZ and Company.
  
• Center for Applied Transect Studies