With Gas Over $4, Cities Explore Whether It's Smart to Be Dense

Communities like Quarry Falls provide a higher quality of life for residents

Another great article, this time in the Wall Street Journal, shows how expensive oil is forcing Americans to reconsider their suburban lifestyle. Moving closer to work in the city can be a very enjoyable experience.

Matt Overmyer, a resident of a new compact development in Roseville, CA, describes how “he now bikes to the grocery store…and because the houses in his neighborhood are closer together and share a back alley, he interacts with his neighbors a lot more.” Like Quarry Falls, Mr. Overmyer’s community is designed around a village square that will provide shops and restaurants within half a block of his home. His commute to work, formerly 45 minutes long, is now only 15 minutes.

Dave Morris, a developer in the Sacramento area, presented a forecast of the region in 50 years, which showed poor air-quality and ridiculously long commutes, indicating that you could commute faster by bicycle. If suburbs of California continue to develop the way that they have over the last 40 years or so, “the quality of life for communities without jobs nearby would nose dive,” according to Morris.

The future does not have to look this way, though! In another city near Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, residents in townhomes and small houses “can walk to work at nearby office parks. The light-rail line built to commute to Sacramento now serves as a tram for local residents.” This is very similar to what Quarry Falls proposes, which includes places to live, work, and play without having to drive, as well as easy access to the trolley stop for commutes to downtown San Diego and other nearby job centers.

Read the original article for more details:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121538754733231043.html

Here’s a link to a great video on the topic as well:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid452319854/bctid1649956635

Depleted San Diego Quarry to Become Mixed

Read this Urban Land Magazine article about how "a declining 70-year-old quarry in San Diego, is slated to become a 230-acre mixed-use, walkable, infill community with housing, village shops, businesses, access to the city's light-rail system, and park space -- and with all these elements within a 15-minute walk of one another."

Reversing suburban flight

Americans have begun to feel the effects of rising energy prices. Once upon a time, many considered it more enjoyable and affordable to live in the suburbs and commute into the urban core for work. Now it’s a different story – rising energy prices have forced many people to sell their white picket-fenced suburban homes for condos in the city that provide them with a shorter commute and easier access to public transportation. Quarry Falls is a model for this type of sustainable design. By utilizing an urban, infill site, Quarry Falls will provide a variety of affordable home types while promoting walkability and transit ridership. Interestingly, Quarry Falls offers many of the attractive amenities that people in the past have moved to suburbia to find – parks, open space, walking trails, and a socially-connected community. As energy prices drive transportation costs up, we must begin to think green in our planning and building principles. Read more in this New York Times article.