Suburban Underground
Suburban Underground is a proposal to improve the sustainability of the suburban model of development. We do not challenge the need for big box retail or the single family home, but instead we reimagine them within a bucolic agricultural framework.
Lancaster PA, serves as the test case for our research. In Lancaster the increasing conversion of agricultural land to retail and housing poses a challenge to local produce and the tourist economy. We propose a scheme which allows for farmland and the suburbs simultaneously.
Instead of an either / or proposition, we overlay agriculture on big box retail spaces and around the single family home. Single family homes are clustered to allow for more contiguous farmland and the lawn is relocated to the building’s roof.
The value of land for agriculture will rise as populations grow and the demand for local food increases. Our goal is to propose practical solutions that are made economically feasible by this increase in value.
Location
- Monterey, MA
