The 'Sprawl Repair Act': Realizing Polycentricity in Metropolitan Spatial Structure

摘要

Polycentric spatial structure within a metropolitan region is a common understanding of important economic and social dynamics. These nodes occur due to a variety of explanatory theories that range from Garreau's edge cities, Krugman's self-organization of the producer function, to planned decentralization by institutional authorities (e.g., London in the 1890s, Istanbul in the late 20th century - from Howard to Hadid). A new model - the Sprawl Repair Act - is being formulated by Duany Plater-Zyberk, the architectural and urban design firm that specializes in New Urbanism. Instead of developing on virgin land, the SRA attempts to "repair" suburban morphological sites into working "centers" much like Howard and/or Hadid conceptualized. Here, the opportunity to repair the suburban morphologies is through abandoned or underutilized shopping centers and/or large box development. The final portion of the paper is an examination of the site containing the Palm Beach Mall - once the largest enclosed shopping center in the southern part of the US - using SRA principles, as well as an assessment of the principles themselves in light of current revitalization knowledge and practice.