DIRK SUTRO: Higher density developments near rail lines are the wave of San Diego's future, but not everyone one is on board with the environment-friendly transit-oriented developments (TODs).
In the early 1990s, urban planner and visionary Peter Calthorpe promoted transit-oriented development as the future of vibrant cities. He was hired by the city of San Diego to help revise its General Plan, and the result was a concept called City of Villages. With dense mixed-use development including housing situated at mass transit nodes, neighborhoods would be revitalized as convenient pedestrian-friendly places that would help move us away from car addiction and suburban sprawl.
The advent of TODs has brought fresh opportunities and challenges for architects, whose importance in shaping our city is underappreciated. Unfortunately, the architecture of TODs has been a mixed bag. Some are suburbanly bland, but a few are fabulous. Two of my favorites were designed by, which specializes in affordable housing and has designed more than a dozen mixed-use projects and thousands of apartments in San Diego and other California cities since its founding in 1987.
I love architects who see their buildings as works of art, and who dream up stories as part of the design process. Along with less dependence on cars and more exercise for people, sustainability is a prime benefit of new TODs. Palm City received a $1 million grant from the California Energy Commission for zero-emission affordable housing.
A birds-eye view rendering of a planned transit-oriented development at the Oceanside Transit Center. Gridlock between those who support more cars and wider freeways, and TOD and mass transit advocates who want to see cars banned from some urban areas, is an obstacle to more rapid progress. Density and height bonuses for developers of affordable housing are helping meet housing demand, but funding for mass transit infrastructure lags behind funding for roads and freeways.
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