An Old New Urbanist?
An Internship at the Marshall Erdman Academy of
Sustainable Design
An Old New Urbanist?
An Internship at the Marshall Erdman Academy of Sustainable Design
Architectural Sociology:
New Urbanism in the USA
Lehrstuhl für Architektursoziologie
Fachbereich 07 TU Berlin
Viktor Oldiges
1. Preface
This resume was written for the "New Urban-
ism" seminar at the TU Berlin under supervi-
sion of Prof. Harald Bodenschatz, teacher of
Architectural Sociology. Topic of the seminar
were the different flavours of a movement in the
USA, called "New Urbanism". In this context,
the term is used to describe a very complex pro-
cess that is taking place in America right now.
New Urbanism cannot be seen as a homogeneous
movement. It is rather a wide variety of new so-
lutions in theory and practice to improve the
quality of life in the USA. It is regarded as an
American reaction to Urban Sprawl, but also as
a reaction to the increasing social problems in
urban neighborhoods. In the following, I will
present two projects I consider part of this move-
ment. However, "New Urbanism" has many
meanings, and there might be disagreement
within the groups of protagonists about whether
or not the term applies to their projects.
In Summer 1999, I had the chance to do an in-
ternship at the Marshall Erdman Academy of
Sustainable Design
1
in Madison, Wisconsin. The
MEASD is a Non-Government-Organization, an
independent part of Marshall Erdman & Asso-
ciates Inc. Its goal is to "develop a better under-
standing of the regional design process" and
"seek new urban options"
2
. For example, the
Academy proposes higher urban density in or-
der to contain Urban Sprawl. In Madison, the
Academy tries to achieve these goals by estab-
lishing a regional transit system that is supposed
to propel dense urban development.
Marshall Erdman & Associates is a company
that is responsible for the design and construc-
tion of private clinics and hospitals throughout
the Midwest of the United States. That usually
includes the complete design process, construc-
tion supervision as well as the interior design.
All clinics are furnished with products of the
Marshall Erdman sub-company techline. A late
project of Marshall Erdman has also been the
design of a mid-sized community in Madison
called Middleton Hills.
In the two months of my internship, I worked
on plans for the regional transit system called
the "Rail Study Project". In the following chap-
ters, I will describe the situation in Madison and
the goals of the project. I will also mention the
Middleton Hills Community project by Marshall
Erdman & Associates. I will try to put the two
projects in the context of the New Urbanism
movement and analyze differences and relations
between the "Rail Study Project" and the
"Middleton Hills" Project.
2. Political Context
In order to understand the work of the MEASD,
one must understand the situation of Non-Gov-
ernment-Organizations (NGOs) in the United
States. Compared to Europe, social and ecologi-
cal expenses of the government in the United
States are rather low. Social and Ecological ac-
tivity has always been seen as part of the private
responsibility. Therefore, most companies sup-
port individual NGOs which have long term so-
cial and ecological goals. Naturally, it is not al-
lowed to make direct commercial use of the
NGOs. However, companies try to drive profit
from their independent knowledge and long term
work.
During the recent economic boom in the United
States, not only commercial firms but also the
NGOs have profited. A large amount of money
is used to contain the problems that come along
with the boom. The new wealth of the middle
class and their new demands have led to an ex-
plosion of size of the cities that brought along
immense land use, irreparable damage to the
landscape, traffic jams and a huge increase of
national output of Co2. We call this development
Urban Sprawl. While this development is still
going on, a considerable part of the society now
suffers from these problems and has changed
their attitudes. On the one hand, many compa-
nies now profit from the new demands for a more
sustainable living and the great amounts of
money that are spent for it. On the other hand,
many NGOs with high financial support of now
successful companies have become important
protagonists of this movement. However, the
1
further mentioned as MEASD
2
in: A Regional Design Process for Sustainability, published by the MEASD
goals of the NGOs are not necessarily identical
with the goals of those companies. This differ-
ence can be seen in the example of the Middleton
Hills Project by a successful company and the
Rail Study Project by its Non-Profit Organiza-
tion.
3. The City of Madison
Madison is the capital of the state of Wiscon-
sin in the north of the USA. The city has about
400.000 inhabitants and is considered as very
"livable". With a very liberal population and a
good system of buses and bike-paths, it provides
a rather unusually well-functioning urban scen-
ery. Madison is a city of high architectural stan-
dard influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and John
Nolen. However, Urban Sprawl has struck Madi-
son as well. While the central districts of the city
have beautiful urban spaces, the surrounding ar-
eas contain huge monotone sprawl communities.
Within the fast-growing city, traffic jams and
other ecological problems are increasing. A
prognosis says that the population of Madison
will increase in the next decade by 50,000 in-
habitants. Most of these people are expected to
settle down in the suburbs, especially in the west
of the city. The town of Middleton on the edge
of Madison will double its population. Univer-
sity Avenue, the main connection between the
Isthmus, the center of Madison, and its western
suburbs, is already jammed during traffic peak
times. Many of the most important spots of Madi-
son are situated along this road: the campus of
the University of Wisconsin, the UW Hospital,
the football stadium, the town center of
Middleton as well as many urban communities
and important companies. One of them is
Marshall Erdman and Associates, a company
that owns large parts of the land along Univer-
sity Avenue.
4. Marshall Erdman and the
Academy
The MEASD was founded when Professor
Philip Lewis jr., teacher of landscape architec-
ture at the UW Madison, retired. Marshall
Erdman, then president of the company named
after him, gave him the opportunity to continue
working on his Sustainable Design projects as
independent part of the company. The personal
relation of Philip Lewis and Marshall Erdman
prior to his death plays an important role in the
whole process. Mr. Lewis' Academy of Sustain-
able Design is regarded highly in the company.
That is not only because he has achieved a lot
during his long career as landscape architect and
is widely known as FASLA and AICP, but also
because he has had a very good relation to
Marshall Erdman. In the philosophy of the com-
pany, a sustainable design process had always
played an important role. Marshall Erdman had
always dedicated himself to those topics. How-
ever, the company has specialized more and
more in clinic construction and has become one
of the most important developers in the US. Only
in some decisions, the work of the company now
intersects the work of the MEASD. The
Middleton Hills project by Marshall Erdman was
one of these exceptional projects.
5. Middleton Hills
The planning process for the Middleton Hills
community began 1993. In a so-called
"Charette", the planning comity of Marshall
Erdman met with different local groups. Inter-
ests were pointed out quickly, and the planing
was assigned to the office of Andres Duany and
Elizabeth Planter-Zyberk (DPZ)
3
. The idea of
Middleton Hills resembles in substance a typi-
cal New Urbanism community
4
. Its emphasis is
put rather on town planning than on architec-
ture. The size of the community is based on a
calculation of walking distances with a maxi-
mum of 400 units and a 10 minute distance. The
plan makes use of existing topography in order
to create a "sense of place"
5
and make use of
natural resources to solve the water drainage
problem. Streets are laid out on an irregular grid
system. Civic buildings and shops are placed on
3
Some of the projects by DPZ were reviewed by other members of the class
4
see: Projekte des New Urbanism, Harald Bodenschatz in: bauwelt 12/00
5
from: Presentation of Middleton Hills under www.erdman.com
important spots and serve as landmarks. In the
contrary to most of the existing communities,
all streets are equipped with sidewalks. The cus-
tomers bring in their own architects. However,
an architectural code ensures a homogeneous
street scenery. Every plan is controlled by a su-
pervising comity. Middleton Hills is situated
within seven miles of downtown and about one
mile from University Avenue. With about half
of the units sold, there is no direct bus service to
downtown yet. Even though the houses are
equipped with modern communication systems,
most of the people work outside the community
and use their cars to get there. The infrastruc-
ture is to serve all periodical needs, but it has
not yet reached a state where it is self-sufficient.
Many units have been sold successfully by 1999,
but not in the expected scale. Ground prices are
higher than in other communities. The reasons
for that are extra expenses in public spaces and
larger, more accurate planning efforts. On the
other hand, the average expenses of a family are
expected to decrease in the community as soon
as the whole infrastructure is completed. There
is less need for private transportation, because
many shops are within walking distance. Be-
sides, there is less need for private space because
of the variety of public spaces in the neighbor-
hood.
Most people who decide to settle down in
Middleton Hills have previously been living in
suburban communities and are seeking for al-
ternate solutions. Usually, they are very respon-
sive to the idea of community, neighborhood and
a more sustainable living. They accept the higher
costs not only for their own advantages, but also
for the idea of a more responsible way of life
concerning the environment.
6. The Rail Study Project
While the Middleton Hills Project is still under
construction, politicians, urban designers and
economic leaders have identified the problems
of Urban Sprawl in Madison. Middleton Hills
provides a much denser structure than sprawl
communities, and it decreases private traffic.
above left
: Map of Middleton Hills
left
: Philip Lewis jr. in the Academy Office
above
: Styles taken from the architectural code in Middleton Hills
However, inhabitants of Middleton Hills are still
highly dependent on cars. They are jamming Uni-
versity Avenue every morning just as the inhab-
itants of "Sprawl City" do. Like in European
countries, new markets and industries have led
to a shift to new sites in most businesses.
During the economic boom of the nineties and
the beginning of this decade, planners are seek-
ing for solutions for all kinds of new projects,
such as expanding companies, new civic projects
and changes in infrastructure. With many sites
remaining unused, there is a high potential for
new development within the city limits. The
MEASD has started the Rail Study Project in
order to accelerate the development of Urban
Infill. The idea is based on the Urban Corridor
theory. By guiding the sprawl into these corri-
dors, farmlands and so-called Environmental
Corridors can be protected. The Environmental
Corridors contain most of the natural and cul-
tural resources. In the Mid-West of the United
States, there is a historic infrastructure of rail
lines. Most villages and cities have developed
along these rail lines in the turn of the century.
The Urban Corridors make use of the spaces
along these rail lines in order to make use of the
transit potential and old infrastructure. A major
goal of the project is to create new public spaces
surrounding the stations. Customers will only use
public transport if they have access to retail and
service for periodic needs. These facilities would
develop in small distance to the stations. Land
use would be minimized, and the structure of
the whole city would become more oriented to-
wards these new sub-centers.
In Madison, there is an existing rail system
along University Avenue. However, most of the
urban development has taken place outside this
existing corridor, encouraging sprawl. The tracks
are only used for cargo transports. The MEASD
listed potential transit stations and their status
in 1999 and in the future and met with all land
owners in order to discuss possible development.
However, there is disagreement about these
plans. Opposing groups argue that a larger bus
network with better frequencies could serve the
same purpose. A new rail system with new tran-
sit stations would be too expensive. Some in-
habitants of adjacent neighborhoods fear that a
transit system would attract people of lower in-
come, like university students and welfare-de-
pendent people. Neighbors fear noise and pos-
sible development of crime in the transit areas.
Some argue that new and better ways of trans-
portation will encourage even more development
outside the city limits. But usually, reactions are
rather positive. The transit system serves not only
the purpose of reducing private traffic. Inves-
tors hope to gain profit from higher retail activi-
ties in the station area. Different groups of inter-
est have identified the problems which come
along with urban sprawl and are now support-
ing the plans. Communities along the railroad
hope to profit from long term increases of tax
income. There is also disagreement about the
scale of the system. The city wants to keep com-
munity development and transit station retail
within the city limits. Adjacent communities and
influential companies support a larger regional
system in order to connect their outer sites. The
transit system has become subject to all kinds of
social and political engagement. Meetings with
all kinds of groups have shown that political top-
ics are far more important for the realization of
the transit system than direct economic calcula-
tions.
7. Analysis
Both Middleton Hills and the Rail Study Project
can be seen as parts of the New Urbanism move-
ment. However, they are influenced by all kinds
of interests. In Middleton Hills, Erdman tries to
react to the needs of its customers. These needs
differ. Some are seeking for the special atmo-
sphere of a traditionalist community. Some want
a safer place for their children, others have been
living too far away from their jobs. The com-
pany wants to profit from these demands. The
project must not be seen as ideological, it should
rather be seen as a possible solution to existing
problems. The Rail Study Project to me seemed
to be more a subject to all kinds of discussion.
The political scale of New Urbanism was far
more evident in this case. On the one hand, it
left above
: Sprawl City and Corridor City in the theory of Philip Lewis
left
: Transit village in Japan - high density along transit routes and
maximum use of agricultural wedges
above
:
1. A German diesel train proposed for the transit system
2. The Wisconsin Trade Ceter with Main Street
towards planned rail tracks
3. The historic train station in Middleton
unified the conservative land owners against it.
Some of them believe that huge new develop-
ments outside the city are rather a sign of
progress than a problem. They believe any kind
of government control and public investment
to be wrong. On the other hand, the project
showed the disagreement within the movement,
between environmentalists, traditionalists, the
administration of the administration of the city
of Madison and that of its suburbs.
8. Duany and Krieger
Andres Duany, the planner of Middleton Hills,
has always been subject to heavy criticism. One
of his main opponents in public discussions was
Alex Krieger, professor of Urban Design at
Harvard University. In his speech at the New
Urbanism Congress in September 1998, Krieger
attacked the whole movement of New Urban-
ism. As a supporter of investment in central cit-
ies, Krieger believes the claims of the New Ur-
banism Movement to be not equal to its achieve-
ments. "To date", he summarizes, the movement
has "helped produce more subdivisions, [...] den-
sities too low to support much mixed use, a new
wave of form-follows-function determinism, [...]
and carefully edited, rose-colored evocations of
small-town urbanism, from which a century ago
many Americans fled not to the suburbs but to
6
Whose Urbanism?, Alex Krieger, from: bauwelt, 12/00, speech at the New Urbanism Congress 1998 in Seaside, FL
7
Nothing but Prejudice!, Andres Duany, ARCHITECTURE, 12/98
the city." Using "Orwellian New Urbanism New
Speak", the movement, according to Krieger,
turned subdivisions into "towns" and real estate
investors into "town fathers". He warns not to
"constrict at this propitious moment the possi-
bilities of what constitutes urbanism"
6
. Duany
responded to the attacks in an article in the
American magazine ARCHITECTURE: "Noth-
ing but prejudice!"
7
. He points out that every
single aspect of the attack is wrong. sprawl, land
use, density, traffic, restrictions and codes, pri-
vate legislation: Duany claims to have found the
ideal and most practicable solution for each of
these topics. With 320 units per acre, DPZ com-
munities reach a "typically urban density".
The polemic exchange of opinions between
Krieger and Duany shows that within the move-
ment, there is a difference between theory and
practice. Until 1998, New Urbanism was seen
as an idea full of visionary spirit that would
change America and solve all social and eco-
nomical problems. Since the sudden breakout
of the conflict, the debate has become a major
political topic, especially with the Presidential
candidature of Al Gore as a major figure in the
discussion.
below:
Planned rail lines in Madison
right
: Sketches of the ideal city show neotraditional villages as
well as high density structures
8
from: Landscape Architecture Magazine, 07/96
9
from my Interview with Frank Miller in 09/99
9. Resume
The MEASD and the Company of Marshall
Erdman reflect in a way the debate between
Krieger and Duany. But the conflict of the New
Urbanism Congress in Seaside has not touched
the atmosphere in Madison. Lewis tries to find
the way in between. He is described by the
American Magazine of Landscape Architecture
as "commonsense visionary"* The plans of the
MEASD are far less ideological than they might
seem. As part of Marshall Erdman & Associ-
ates, the Academy has a direct relation to real-
ized projects. Professor Lewis has always been
involved in these projects. In the sketches of the
Urban Corridor Theory, he included new com-
munities like Middleton Hills as parts of the ideal
network of sustainable developments. He be-
lieves that every single step in the right direc-
tion should be seen positively and become part
of the whole movement. However, his influence
in the company could be higher. His work is not
academic theory, but rather an image for a pos-
sible development that includes all positive
movements. "I'm a landscape architect," Lewis
states in an interview
8
, "Landscape architects are
concerned with where to build, where not to
build, and what to build.". With the great sources
of land, the company could profit from his ideas.
In the last years, the company has put the atten-
tion on their large projects. Frank Miller, vice
president of the MEASD, is also responsible for
the restructuring of the Marshall Erdman head
office
9
. He says that the company was too far
away from its own philosophy and did not make
enough use of their advantages. With a new
single office building designed by the German
architect Thomas Herzog, he wants to improve
the communication with all parts of the com-
pany, including the Academy. In the new build-
ing, Professor Lewis might get spaces for an
exhibition about his regional design process. The
Academy might get new impulse and emerge
from the quiet position in the background of
political activity. If these plans are successful,
Marshall Erdman & Associates will serve as the
example for all New Urbanists. A truly sustain-
able design process in the spirit of the Wiscon-
sin visionaries Aldo Leopold and Frank Lloyd
Wright could be combined with the knowledge,
philosophy and pragmatism of the company's
founder Marshall Erdman.
The term "New Urbanism" alone is not a recipe
for improvement. Marshall Erdman & Associ-
ates could show that only visionary spirit com-
bined with constant political work can improve
the quality of life in the United States.
Kevin Krogmann
Very good.
Of course, as a friend of the authors and a Wisconsite, I may not be completely unbiased. But I consider this simply one of the best works in architechtural sociology that Ive ever read.
am Sunday, July 14, 2002-