Design, Preservation, Sustainability

Architectural preservation is an important approach to environmental sustainability, with potential ecological and cultural benefits. It can reduce wasteful resource consumption and strengthen our ties to great design from the past. Because of this, I'm very excited about an upcoming conference on preservation and sustainability at the Cooper-Hewitt. It focuses on the role of preservation in green building with a parallel track on Clarence Stein's efforts to develop Garden Cities. Workshops and site visits with architects, engineers, planners, developers, researchers, preservationists, and residents of Stein-designed communities will take place from May 21-22.


Clarence and Aline Stein at home.*

Clarence Stein was an architect, planner, and tireless advocate of Garden Cities. After studying architecture at Columbia University and the École des Beaux-Arts, he worked for Bertram Goodhue for 8 years before starting a firm with Henry Wright in 1919. Stein co-founded the Regional Planning Association of America (RPAA) shortly thereafter, working closely with Lewis Mumford, Benton MacKaye, Catherine Bauer Wurster, and Alexander Bing in support of affordable housing, wilderness preservation, and management of urban sprawl.



Sunnyside Gardens in Queens, just after completion in 1924, showing private gardens, shared central green space, playgrounds, tennis courts, and a railway to Manhattan in the distance (upper right).


A plan for blocks with shared interior courtyards at Sunnyside Gardens.

The RPAA sponsored a visit by Patrick Geddes in 1923, and Stein and Wright visited Ebenezer Howard and Raymond Unwin in England the following year. Their influential body of work includes Sunnyside Gardens in Queens, Hillside Homes in the Bronx, Walt Whitman Houses in Brooklyn, Chatham Village in Pittsburgh, Baldwin Hills Village in Los Angeles, Radburn in New Jersey, and Kitimat in Brittish Columbia. These communities feature gardens, shared courtyards, and parks closely integrated with housing. Stein and Wright used cul-de-sacs, superblocks, and greenbelts to separate neighborhoods as much as possible from highways and reduce traffic congestion. Such arrangements drew criticism in later years from Jane Jacobs and other advocates of vibrant street life. The Great Depression and World War II prevented Stein and the RPAA from securing the financial and political backing to realize their vision for true Garden Cities (with local employment, public transportation links, and limitations on sprawl). However, their attempts have inspired generations of planners.


Apartments in Radburn (left).* Plan of the Burnham Place cul-de-sac in Radburn (right). Click on either image for an enlargement.


Riding by a park in Radburn. Stein was an early supporter of bicycle paths separated from busy streets.


Pathway to a central green in Radburn (left). Pedestrian bridge over Fairlawn Avenue in Radburn (right).*

In Toward New Towns for America (1951), Stein explains his work through a series of reflective case studies. He recalls efforts to keep new towns affordable and encourage "good living" by way of healthy and attractive environments. He criticizes real estate development that favors profit over quality living conditions, citing related health problems, congested streets, environmental damage, and inefficient use of resources. He's especially critical of impersonal housing and dangerous roadways. Channeling Howard, he calls for comprehensively planned, small-scale, pedestrian-oriented communities ensconced in green space. Also like Howard, he encourages planners to live in the communities they've helped establish, or at least visit often, staying aware of changing needs and making adjustments with the help of local residents.


Model of Hillside Homes in the Bronx.


Houses and green space in Pittsburgh's Chatham Hills neighborhood.

In light of Stein's focus on new towns which have since given way to suburban sprawl, it appears slightly incongruous that he's now featured at a conference on preservation and environmental sustainability. Much of his work could be criticized as planned from above, dependent on automobiles, wasteful of resources. However, pictures reveal an integrity that is absent in housing built for fast profit. Stein's dedication to providing quality living environments for low-income citizens is an inspiring counterpoint to prevailing trends in real estate development. I'm looking forward to the guided tours of places he designed; a rare opportunity to find out how they've changed with time. I hope to see you there!

Credits: First photo is of row houses in Chatham Hills, Pittsburgh. Starred (*) images scanned from The Writings of Clarence Stein, edited by Kermit Parsons. All other images scanned from Toward New Towns for America, by Clarence Stein.