A Sense of Place: Creative Communities in ENC

Mr. Kunstler was invited to speak at this conference because of his provocative, bold and deeply-researched theories, and we did so in the hope that his views would provoke each of our attendees to entertain outside-the-box thinking about the future of our towns.  Mr. Kunstler theorizes that the large-scale, petroleum-dependent economy of the 20^th century will not exist in the years to come.  He admonishes planners to focus on traditional models of urban design - walkable neighborhoods, mixed-use development, and well-defined outdoor spaces - in order to ensure viable communities in a world that is less oil dependent.

All six towns participating in the Creative Communities Initiative (CCI) - Ayden, Edenton, Hertford, Murfreesboro, Plymouth and Tarboro - have many of the characteristics already in place that Mr. Kunstler posits will make these communities desirable places to live in the coming years.  The CCI, hosted by FoR ENC and funded by Golden LEAF, is designed to assist our small, rural communities in transitioning into the 21^st century creative economy.  The first key element to becoming a creative destination is to offer a 'sense of place' that is attractive to, among others, knowledge workers.   The first CCI workshop was designed to initiate discussion among commission members about the importance of design in community planning.

Meeting Summary

Mr. Kunstler began the discussion by explaining his theory that declining oil production and resulting geopolitical crises will make unsustainable economies that are now dependent on cheap oil.  If Mr. Kunstler's theories are correct, the coming oil crises will change how we live, work and develop our communities.  During the "long emergency" that Mr. Kunstler speaks of in his book, Americans will need to adjust how communities are structured and how transportation issues factor into the equation.  The healthy and viable community of the future will be compactly designed, encourage walking and limit the need to use an automobile. 

In the early days of the United States, architects developed public buildings based on Greco-Roman style.  The architecture they designed told us about who we were, or who we want to be, as a people.  They were proud buildings that invoked reference to Greek democracy and Roman republicanism, reminding us of the roots of our culture as a new Western nation.  These designs instilled pride in the community for the streetscapes and buildings that defined public life.  The walls of these buildings were used to form the walls of the public space.  Early planners understood that an active, viable public space was necessary to ensure the sustainability of the community.

The way we develop our towns and cities has changed over time, especially with the advent of the Industrial Revolution.  People decided to separate where they live from where they work, and understandably so, given the nature of early factories.  This led to zoning laws that created single use districts that dramatically changed urban development.  The major feature of this trend was the development and proliferation of urban and suburban sprawl.  The second major shift came with the arrival of the automobile.  By the 1950s, community development and planning was directed by traffic engineering.  Streets became a utility, rather than a living public space.

Mr. Kunstler believes that these changes have made American streets and, by extension, towns all but unlivable.  He often refers to modern streets as "dead" and unattractive.  These places are not worth caring about and not worth living in.  They all tend to look the same.  Kunstler refers to the modern American landscape as the "Universal Automobile Slum."  He argues that this new living arrangement is not sustainable and has no future. 

There is hope, however, especially in small towns that already have traditionally planned street-and-block town centers.  These mixed-use, traditional grid neighborhoods have all the amenities that a modern sprawl community has, with the exception that they are all situated in centralized locations and are not dependent on the automobile.  This makes such neighborhoods much more sustainable in a world with rising petroleum prices.

Similarly, communities that are on the waterfront will also have economic advantages.  Moving goods over water will become more efficient as gas prices go up.  Kunstler predicts that the waterfront will become more important to a communities daily life than just an as attractive magnet for visitors.  He calls for these communities to re-evaluate their waterfronts to allow more "working" areas.  Working waterfronts often contain wharfs, warehouses and commercial fishing operations.  Again, eastern North Carolina has a natural advantage with its thousands of miles of coastline, along both the Outer and Inner Banks. 

To develop places that are worth living in and near, it is important to return to traditional design methods.  The public space needs to be a place worth caring for, and that in turn reflects who we are as a community.  A well-defined outdoor "room" needs an active boundary, with retail shops, restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores and entertainment venues on the edge of the square to cultivate a culture of involvement.  More attention needs to be paid to the quality of the buildings that line the streets of our towns.  They need to be easily accessible from the public space so that they become an integrated part of the community.

Trees and green spaces should be designed to accentuate the design of the public space.  Mr. Kunstler warns not to use green space as a "nature Band-Aid" that simply covers up bad design.  He argues that today we use green space to cover up our seeming inability to design good buildings.  Trees should be placed in such a manner that they add to the development of an outdoor room.  Geometrically placed trees and bushes can add contour and depth to a public space.  Trees should be used to define pedestrian spaces, filter sunlight to make the public space more pleasant, act as a buffer to protect pedestrians from automobiles and add an additional layer of definition.

Many communities across America will have difficulty transitioning to an economy that is not based on cheap petroleum.  These communities will most likely try to sustain the unsustainable due to a "psychology of previous investment."  Such towns have invested so much time and so many resources into developing an infrastructure to accommodate the demands of the petroleum-based economy that they may be unwilling to accept the changes that the future will bring.  Small towns have the advantage in that they have not known sprawl and the investment that this trend requires. 

Parking will not be one of the major urban issues in the future because fewer people will be able to afford the use of an automobile.  Investments in parking decks, bypasses and multi-lane highways are not wise in light of the coming emergency.  A better investment, in Kunstler's eyes, would be to rebuild the rail system and install inter-urban rail lines.  Communities that are along rail lines will be poised for growth if these events come to pass.

The Future of Small Rural Communities

Kunstler predicts a reversal of the migration trends of the past 50 years that saw people fleeing small towns in rural areas for opportunity in large urban centers.  Kunstler does not think that big cities will be completely abandoned, but he does see the collapse of the unsustainable suburban sprawl that encircles them. 

Kunstler predicts that people will seek communities that are smaller and can be sustained without relying on bringing in goods and services from the outside.  Local food production will play a major role in the sustainability of communities in the future.  Kunstler sees agriculture becoming closer to our every day lives.  The current method of food production and dissemination will be unsustainable in a world where petrochemicals and transporting goods via contemporary methods become ever more expensive and unsustainable.  We all saw the spike in food prices in the past few years in reaction to rising gas prices.  This is just a small warning of what is to come.

Areas that have green, undeveloped land that can be used for agriculture will be in a much better position than those that do not.  Eastern North Carolina, with a long agricultural tradition and abundant land, will be poised for growth, while places like Arizona and Las Vegas will not be sustainable.  Kunstler sees agriculture becoming closer to our every day lives.

The small towns of eastern North Carolina are well situated to take full advantage of their existing design and natural amenities to meet and surmount the challenges of the future.  There is astonishing potential in these communities because they have not been subject to the same amount of sprawl that larger communities have experienced over the past 50 years. 

Mr. Kunstler's theories may be controversial, but they also serve as a wakeup call for all of us to start thinking about issues that could have tremendous impact on our lives.  It is up to us to act now to meet the challenge of living in a world where cheap oil will not be available.

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Click here to read an article by Mr. Kunstler that was recently published in Orion Magazine.