The Three Dimensional City

For years, I've wondered about America's apparent obsession with building out instead of up.  I understand, it costs less to build a single-story building than a multi-story building of the same total square footage.  That benefits a developer, or a few developers.  But it has caused a terrible cost on society.

Building up creates a higher density.  Density makes mass transit practical; that reduces our dependency on fossil fuels.  Density brings destinations closer together; that reduces the amount of time we waste driving from place to place.  And it reduces our need to turn our landscapes into vast parking lots to accommodate big-box retailers.  It's no surprise that residents of Manhattan, one of the highest-density markets in the country, use less water and fuel on a per capita basis than the rest of the country.

So I've always wondered why we choose to help out a few developers, who are probably doing all right financially anyway, at such a high cost to the rest of us.

I've only realized lately that a lot of people, much smarter than me, have been thinking the same thing.  I've also noticed that a few more developers are starting to think in three dimensions.

In February, I came across this article in the Baltimore Sun; it talks about a two-story development with a Lowe's Home Center on the first story and a Walmart on the second story.  The entire project will include additional retail space and residential units.

In my recent hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida, a Publix grocery store built the majority of its parking lot underneath the store.  Buy your groceries and take your grocery cart down an escalator to your car.  I'm surprised how many people complain about the escalator.  I've tried it, it's easier than walking across a large parking lot, especially when it's raining.

The photo shows a development in Tampa, my current hometown.  Instead of the usual oversized parking lot, we have a multi-story parking garage.  Next door is a multi-story retail development with Target upstairs and Whole Foods, and other retailers, downstairs.  The overall footprint is smaller than the typical suburban retail development.

These examples indicate change on a small scale.  But they are good examples of building up instead of out.  We live in three dimensions; we should think in three dimensions when we plan our cities.