A November 29 broadcast on National Public radio features a project co-directed by planning professor Aaron Golub and Milagros Zingoni of the ASU Herberger Institute of Design and the Arts. Students involved include Benjamin Stanley, of the School of Sustainability and Christian Solorio; Hector Navarro; and Whitney Warman of the Herberger Institute of Design and the Arts.

In the project, called “Retrofitting Suburbs: Re-visioning the Cul-de-Sac,” Golub, Zingoni and their team are working with the city of Avondale to re-design one of its cul-de-sacs for the year 2030. The goal is for the re-designed cul-de-sac to fit the needs of future populations, in which there will be an increasing number of single- and two-person households. The re-designed cul-de-sac will use the existing structures to accommodate up to 3 times as many residents, in “manors” that blend small private units with shared space.

Using the proposed designs, Golub, Zingoni and the graduate students will explore the policy costs, benefits and challenges to implanting such re-use approaches.  At the end of the project, the group will host a forum with the public and practitioners in which they’ll explore their specific design and policy studies, along with more general issues of suburban re-use.

“Retrofitting Suburbs” is funded by a grant from ASU’s Phoenix Urban Research Lab (PURL), which is directed by planning professor Emily Talen.

The November 29 broadcast, developed by NPR’s Fronteras desk, was followed by a December 5 interview on Nevada Public Radio’s “State of Nevada.”

Broadcasts and summaries are available at:

• Fronteras Desk National Public Radio broadcast and article, Nov 29, 2011: http://www.fronterasdesk.org/news/2011/nov/29/neighborhood-housing-suburb-real-estate-develop/
• Nevada Public Radio Broadcast and article, Dec 5, 2011: http://knpr.org/knpr/2011-12/modern-families-yesterdays-construction

For more information about Dr. Golub’s 2011-2012 Centennial Professor Award