Reimagining Broadacre City

Broadacre city was a vision created by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1932 of a utopian suburbia. Although named Broadacre City, Wright's libertarian community was the very opposite of the US cities at the time. Each family would receive at least one acre of land, with larger families receiving more. According to James Nevius in the blog Is the world ready for Frank Lloyd Wright’s suburban utopia?, Wright's city would have 2.5 people to each acre, as opposed to the104 people per acre in Manhattan in the year 2000 census.

Figure 1, Broadacre City (Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, 2018)

Although Broadacre was designed by Wright almost 100 years ago, upon studying his ideologies and rationale, it feels eerily familiar in a post- lockdown society. The office block was removed, as Wright believed with the advancement of technology, office workers would be able to work from home. There would be little in terms of commuting and people would have their own land on which they could live independently and self actualise, without the need of other places.

Broadacre City did however, have hubs in which other unavoidable needs could be fulfilled. In a bid to de-centralise the city, each type of amenity would be grouped together and placed in its own area. Rather than having a centre, in which one could find every service and amenity, Wright viewed the development of the automobile as a means to generate a city with no centre- a place where people could avoid having to hit busy, urban spaces to get what they required. The schools would all be grouped, the clinics would all be grouped and so on. The roads were large and sweeping and allowed enough space for no traffic jams, waiting for a bus or a train would not be a problem in Wright's vision as there was no need for public transport, cars would be affordable to all. This vehicular movement would be central to the lives of the residents and the gas station would become a community with spaces to socialise as well as just to fill up the car.

Figure 2, Broadacre Analysed

This would lead to cities that felt like suburbs. A take on a garden city, Wright wanted the city to feel like the country, with vast green areas, orchards and farms- an idyllic concept, of which de-urbanisation was at the heart. People would live with equal opportunity, and no need for stressful commutes and busy central areas. The skyline would be low and the vistas green, a promotion of good wellbeing, and a promise of a blissful life.

However, fast forward to now and we begin to question the validity of these claims. Is Wright's Broadacre City what the world needs?

In a post- lockdown world, we have all experienced some form of living independently. Working from home, quietened roads, and only the commute from the bedroom to the kitchen. Although many of our communities and estates grew closer, as per Wright's vision, the lack of day to day physical contact, for many, was tough.

As well as this, the emphasis on the automobile is now beginning to appear outdated. Although many of us are highly relian

t on our vehicles and they are common place in our families, the climate crisis is calling for us to change. Although the development of electric vehicles appears promising, at the moment, there is nothing quite good enough to fully replace the petrol and diesel cars we drive now. Electric is yet to become economically viable for the average family, especially if long distance travelling is not a necessity- as it wouldn't be in Wright's Broadacre.

Due to this, an emphasis on public transportation, car sharing, bicycles and walking is in place. The need for us to stop using fossil fuels is great, and the idea of grouping commodities leads to a need for us to up our mileage- instead of going into the centre of town and running all our errands in one trip, we would need to take many trips around the city.

Due to this, as we began to reimagine Broadacre we decided to bring three large main-streets with trams and rows of jumbled amenities to allow for people to run their errands in one place. The three main streets would run through Wright's minimum housing area, making it easily accessible to all. The minimum, medium and large housing would all be jumbled, allowing for more equal opportunities and reducing the social divide that would inevitably appear with the segregation of housing styles. Each home would still receive an acre of land and be encouraged to grow their own food and the towns would still include all the same commodities as in Wright's vision, to avoid long distance travel. However, the city would feel much more connected. Each home would be close to a public transport link to avoid the use of cars, in an attempt to relieve the climate crisis.

Figure 3, Broadacre Reimagined

References

Nevius , J. Curbed. (2017, January 4). Is the world ready for Frank Lloyd Wright’s suburban utopia?. https://archive.curbed.com/2017/1/4/14154644/frank-lloyd-wright-broadacre-city-history

Gray, J. Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. (2018). Reading Broadacre. Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. https://franklloydwright.org/reading-broadacre/

Figures

Figure 1- Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. (2018). Reading Broadacre [Photograph]. Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Gray, J. Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. (2018). Reading Broadacre. Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. https://franklloydwright.org/reading-broadacre/

Figure 2- Own Image

Figure 3- Own Image