ULI Luncheon Speaker Series: “Retrofitting Suburbia”

By: Judy Price

Yesterday I attended Urban Land Institute’s Monthly Luncheon Speaker Series. The speaker was Ellen Dunham-Jones, an award-winning architect and Professor at Georgia Tech. Professor Dunham-Jones explained the concept of retrofitting suburbia, presented examples where this concept has worked and then detailed ways to perform such retrofits.

 Underperforming older suburban office parks, malls and strip malls provide opportunities for adaptive re-use, creating pedestrian-friendly urban lifestyle centers with a mix of retail, residential and office space. Such places foster community interaction and establish feelings of a sense of place. One Atlanta example is that of Sembler’s Perimeter Center Place located near Perimeter Mall which allows residents to live where they shop.

 In addition to the redevelopment or re-inhabitation of existing buildings, I learned of a new concept called “re-greening.” Before protective laws were enacted, many malls were built on wetlands. Today, re-greening restores these hidden wetlands and can even strengthen adjacent property values. What a fascinating concept!

It was evident that Professor Dunham-Jones is passionate about the subject and I greatly enjoyed her talk today. If you would like to learn more about the subject, her book is Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs.