Cpmparative Urbanism

¶ … Urbanism

Bristol, Rhode Island

On its website, Bristol describes itself as a town, and these appear to be a fair characterization. What could be termed a town center, the waterfront district is clustered in an area proximal to Bristol Harbor to the West. The surrounding areas to the north, south, and east appear to be less rigidly formed, with some apparent sprawl. Three large and distinct historic districts are located in the outskirts of the town, and two smaller historic districts are adjacent to the waterfront historic district. It is as though there were six town centers, rather than one. The overall effect is a fragmented township with limited commerce and constrained interactions among and across these distinct areas. One could imagine that the town council is populated by representatives of each of these areas, and that common ground would be difficult to identify. There are a number of decommissioned schools in the town center, potentially indicating aged buildings and an aging population. Sixteen planning areas correspond roughly to the historic districts and the terrain. The growth plan map indicates that the town council is concerned with maintaining agricultural and open areas, and is working to protect historic and residential areas from incursion by commercial and industrial interests. That the golf course may be converted to industrial property indicates some recognition of a need to increase the business base in the community.

The significant space that characterizes Bristol favorably is the 1810 Federal-style mansion known as the Linden Place. Located in Bristol's historic waterfront district, this crown jewel of local architecture was built by a slave trader named George DeWolf. The descendents of DeWolf lived in the house for 177 years. A number of interesting people have resided in the house, including Colonel Samuel Colt, who founded Industrial Trust Co., which became Fleet Bank, and the actress Ethyl Barrymore. The mansion contains an historic ballroom, French sculpture, and is surrounded by gardens -- all of which helps explain why the house was featured in the film The Great Gatsby. Linden Place represents the best of Bristol's architectural history, and some of its more interesting cultural history.

Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton describes itself as a township on its website. The town's historic routes can be traced to the establishment of a tavern on the Kings Road that was frequented by colonial post riders. In the 1690s, six Quaker families settled in Stony Brook, which was fronted by the Kings Road. Growing stage traffic brought more development that was referred to as Princeton and which eclipsed the Stony Brook settlement. In 1756, the College of New Jersey moved from Newark and erected Nassau Hall. The prominence that Princeton gained from the establishment of the university at the site has endured. Some disagreements about municipalities after the Revolutionary War resulted in the development of a separate borough, which remains today, although it is completely surrounded by and independent of the township of Princeton.

The Kings Road, now referred to as U.S. Highway Route 206, dissects the township of Princeton. Otherwise, no major arteries directly connect to the township. Princeton does have access to U.S. Highway Route 1, the Garden State Parkway, and the New Jersey Turnpike. Direct rail services to New York and Philadelphia are provided by Amtrak and the New Jersey Transit. The community is situated in a semi-wooded area -- much of which is preserved open space -- that includes diverse suburban housing, a portion of which is a recognized affordable housing program. There is one shopping center, several smaller shopping areas, and various research and services offices.

The significant space that characterizes Princeton is its university. Princeton University was chartered in 1746 and is the fourth-oldest college in the United States. One of the eight universities of the Ivy League, Princeton is also one of the nine Colonial Colleges that were founded before the American Revolution. The oldest building on campus is Nassau Hall, which was completed in 1756. During the late 1880s, the campus saw construction of several buildings in High Victorian Gothic style and Romanesque Revival style. Only a few of these buildings remain. The Collegiate Gothic style was adopted by the university toward the end of the 19th century, and the style was standard for all construction through 1960.

Princeton is known as a university town and, accordingly, the campus tends to dominate popular perceptions about the town. The university campus is expanding and the planning involves substantive consideration of campus neighborhoods, which illustrate the blurring of campus and community. The comprehensive plan is intricate, appearing to integrate thoughtful ways to ensure that the interchange between the university and the community that surrounds it continues on an intimate scale despite significant expansion of academic and recreational space.

Baltimore, Maryland

Mirroring its larger sister to the south east, Baltimore's center is circled by a beltway. About half of the streets radiate out from the city center like spokes in a wheel. The rest of the streets form more conventional city blocks that stand obstinately squared off, awkwardly opposing a more integrated orientation to the beltway. The city's planning and development offices estimate that the city will need to accommodate a million additional people, 400,000 more residences, and about 600,000 more jobs. Over the past several decades, the city has been unable to curb sprawl with its Smart Growth plan. As a result, the State of Maryland is exercising its right -- since laws enacted in the 1970s -- to draw up a statewide development plan. Plan Maryland, the state's initiative, will lay out strategies for achieving shared goals with communities, such as more affordable housing, protection of farms and forests, walkable neighborhoods and centers, and encouraging development in or near existing established areas.