Upcycling 2.0 as Long Island Suburbs

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A student group from the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture and Planning and Preservation proposed an impressive concept to redevelop the suburbs on Long Island into a more sustainable and self-sufficient region.

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Upcycling 2.0 by Ryan H. B. Lovett, John B. Simons, and Patrick Cobb suggests densifying towns and making better use of underutilized infrastructure like parking lots. The plan also focuses developments around transit hubs, and zones for agriculture and conservation are clearly marked out.

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Upcycling 2.0’s basic premise is to use the basic building blocks of cities and towns and combine them on parcels of land to better utilize our space.

For example, instead of a big box store with a huge parking lot, the space would be better utilized as a combo unit containing a store, parking, and a high school built on top. Likewise, a strip mall can be topped with a row of single-family townhouses with a green belt built beside.

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In this way, single-use lots can be transformed into multi-use parcels, making better use of the space and providing multiple functions for area residents.

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Upcycling 2.0 does not propose that we tear down the existing infrastructure — instead it suggests to upcycle and add to it in order to make it more useful.

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source: inhabitat, buildabetterburb, longislandindex