The Missing Link in City Redevelopment ARCHITECTURAL FoRUM, JUNE 1956 SOMETIMES YOU LEARN MORE ABOUT A PHENOMENON WHEN it isn't there, like water when the well runs dry—or like the neighborhood stores which are not being builtin our redevel. oped city areas. In New York's East Harlem, stores have already vanished in the course people. for instance, 1,110 of rehousing 50,000 Planners and architects are ape co think, in an orderly way, of stores as a straightforward matter of supplies and services, Commercial space. Bur stores in city neighborhoods are much more compli- cared creatures which have evolved a much more complicated fonction, Although they ate mere holes in the wall, they he} ‘make an urban neighborhood a community instead of « man dormitory. ~ A store is alo a storekeeper. One supe market ean replace neighborhood delicatessens, fruit sta nd buch, ! inds, groceries and butch- rs, as a Housing Authority planner explains, But it cannot re. Place 30 storekeepers or even one. The manager of a housing Project in East Harlem says he spends three-fourths of his time on extraneous matters; he says: “I'm forced into trying to take cry suinpine, 1952-1965 oa the place of 4o storekeepers.” He is no better trained to handle this than a storekeeper and not as good at it because he does it grudgingly instead of out of pleasure of being a neighborhood hub and busybody. Also it happens that most of the tenants heartily dislike him, but he is the best they have in the way of a public character in that super-block and they try to make him do. ‘The stores themselves are social centers—especially the bars, candy stores and diners. Asstore is also often an empty store front. Into these fronts go all manner of churches, clubs and mutual uplift societies. These storefront activities are enormously valuable. They are the in- stitutions that people create, themselves. Sometimes they end up famous, Many real ornaments to the city have started this vway. The little struggling ones are even more important in the aggregate ‘Most political clubs are in storefronts. When an old area is leveled, it is often a great joke that Wardheeler so-and-so has, lost his organization, This is not really hilarious. If you are a no- Ifyou area nobody, and you body, and you don’t know any- don’t know anybody swho isn’t body who isn’t a nobody, the a nobody, the only way you can only way you can make yourself make yourself heard ina large heard in a large city is through city és through certain well certain well defined channels. — defined channels. These channels all begin in holes in the wall. They start in Mike's barbershop or the hole-in-the- wall office of a man called Judge, and they go on to the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club where Councilman Favini holds court, and now you are started on up. It all takes an incredibleAj Caan ype wing axp pure ooeyd aoxaeur xp ez ‘up jo soqduexo asayp anoge spurs no aeqp 3M, re at Jf sepuos ax pry "IHoUAIOseg xp ur aq pynoat aay st eapt Aue pey s99ford exp Jo souueyd amp [perepuom agg “Sapune ayp sea ease [eos a[MpE we se BuPyLOM jo suds pamoys 2eyp aoe Aquo oyp Sqanjosqyy “SMP Yas pesos SuroS-Asea axyeur pjno> Aaxp 10x puy 02 ajdoad ooo'e Jo wowdoppaap yp paquios-tpoor-2u1 sia4soMm asnoy 2UoUE te |) $961-£861 ‘oration 2419 ) nypen ot 99929 ou “p00 Wassup Lp jo op uno nays expr oy 8 #013 sms 90 ops Soztuoned un es pra Aoiaus09 any an 95, ay sea 809 on age2 4 pturdosse sam ug ory, “sow Kno au80> Pr woos pe "yor roe jas 1 anspor o ag woos Int fore 2m) 20} a, SUM 9 OI bse a 1) oor ane ee ay, 1p Syeaop ese Apoysadns sa rads suopeasngo 4 0340 pope ps we [828 ouog “raqU99 suaxpHy> e st a¢ nq _zomUed AaruMUHOD,, © 19199 ‘spuo aso] 18 yon aoa axe ajdood ayp “eropsepy seg ut “xy po fd uo yo een saa oH “[e st a1oqp soupawos ‘eressjoqsa suaddey Suppinqas uoyAN «Sages oxp srouueyd oay8 02 aySn0 a1 pu ‘uonenas snos1pay est sty, “sump Jo stays mou oyp ur may 20¥ aoeyd ow AIpe tour] st o29yp asnesaq sease ferBhasaa pjo ayp 02 saa0 axtys Aaxqeara 21p pur Aaranse jepos anes oy “uuzeyp ay jo yon ‘yt Aar9 0 s9pis aueszodwy £224 owiog zsueawu siya reyes a5 nok Oc] “urajzepy aseg ayy a1t09 “1 ao] {joxturtopard 10 waoy, quesaadmg 241} au0DU a[ppruL St uonyndod ays soypaya suaddey ssao0ad aus sty “Kara € 30 sunzeyp 2eai8 aip Bowe are Ja sou018 onioxa 9] ayp ‘sdoys Hom gsnokar-op oxp ‘sossep> aaqfeq aq ‘sjooyss Aas 2anzezodoos qanout-or-pury axp axe 9194 paxong. “]9q 3ey9 ap “wey pjnos rouuryd pod y “sysezeg auesaadnag axp punore $19 ~ssojfo} dures ays ‘sozons yo a]9q snosadsoud ‘snoeyp ‘poueydun ue Aq papumozans sou st auoudojanap aeq)y“ynsox au0 soxezisi0 ~wp Kpeapp Aap 30, ayy WF UOT, HeSaAdnag uaddey we sBumyp auosoyrp [eianos seaddestp [jean ayp ut sopoy aq uM ay ozzqeusso} 2q Apqeatsouoa youued ssso0xd 3° pur sp s0F suorstacad peosshyd ayy, “sqejuo> jo s9quina )( erty aviipine, 1952-1965 Il 7s ( swer is not in providing multi- and makeshift but very much belonging to the in- in rebuilt neighborhoods. The ans ¢ in providing .ey will die on the vine. The habitants, very intimate and informal. : purpose public rooms for them. They will d : - a + Second, planners must become much more socially sven ofthese entries itt hey have ple indi astute about the zoning of stores and the spotting of their own. Unless and until some sol ae a Thecity has it own stores. Fortunately, in retail business economic and | fo heen be founds hs ween do They sits n social astuteness can make fine allies f given a | is to respect—in the deepest sense—strips _peew ee chance. of cho eat ave weird wom of tk wedi ing 0 beat it into + Thitd, architects must make the most out of such | own not yer encompassed in our concept of by trying : a i 7 " fortuitous social facilities as laundries, mailbox con- | urban order. es glomerations and the adult hangouts at playgrounds, ‘Much can be done to play up instead of play down the gregatious side of these seemingly trivial conve- “We are greatly misled by talk about tation ofthe noncity. bringing the suburb into the city. The city has its own peculiar virtues and we will do it no service by try- hoe | ing to beat it into some inadequate imitation of the pone ‘The starting point must be study of whatever is workable, whatever has charm, in city life, and these are the first qualities that must find a place in the architecture of the rebuilt city. Fourth, we need far more care with outdoor space. I is not enough that it lets in light and air. It is not enough that unallocated space serve as a sort of easel against which to display the fine art of the buildings. In most urban development plans, the unbuilt space isa giant bore. The Gratiot plan for Detroit by-——~-" = Stonorov, Gruen and Yamasaki, which is not to be built, the Southwest Washington plan by I. M. Pei and some of the Philadelphia work such as Louis Kahn's Mill Creek, are unusual exceptions. The out- door space should be at least as vital as the slum side~ walk. There is the problem of what to do with activities that go | into empty stores and basements. ‘True, nobody planned for these among the old tenements and brownstones, but physically there were places to insinuate them. 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