Retrofitting suburbia through pre-urban patterns: Introducing a European perspective

Abstract

This article contributes to the literature and debate on ‘retrofitting suburbia’ by drawing on European planning methods that emphasize the morphology, history and culture of places. Building on approaches to redevelop the periphery areas in Catalonia, Spain, this article suggests that an analysis of pre-urban patterns, such as agricultural plots, homestead systems, rural grids, and watercourses, is an important basis for developing strategies to retrofit suburbia. Specifically, the recovery of rural grids and watercourses as the main elements of civic networks allows one to (i) increase diversity, accessibility and connectivity of the overlapping suburban growth; (ii) reinforce the synergies among interconnected urban regeneration projects; while (iii) integrating urban retrofitting strategies with the unique characteristics of each place. The implementation of this approach is outlined using the Barcelona Metropolitan Region in Spain as an example. We also consider the applicability of this approach to US suburbs such as those in Boston or Phoenix. The article concludes that retrofitting suburbia through pre-urban patterns not only constitutes a promising approach in Spain but also in the United States.