Friday, April 14, 2006
Garden apartments - suburban densification gone wrong?
"Garden"-style mid-rise apartment buildings are often touted by advocates of Smart Growth (who generally don't reside in apartment buildings) as a way to achieve increased transit patronage and "livable" communities in suburbia. But there are problems with with these apartment complexes - problems that the advocates of same don't mention.
Do garden apartment complexes have a monopoly on fires? No, of course not. But garden apartment fires seem to impact lots of people (including fatalities).
Consider the following recent incidents:
People Rescued During 3-Alarm Fire In Wheaton (from NBC4)
Three Alarm Apartment Fire - Georgian Way (Burtonsville VFD)
Two Alarm Apartment Fire In Wheaton - - April 8, 2006 - 0342 hours (Kensington VFD)
10857 Amherst Ave (from TheWatchDesk.com)
Garden Apartment Fire - Amherst Avenue (Burtonsville VFD)
2300 Blue Ridge Ave(also TheWatchDesk.com)
2nd Alarm Fire in Laurel (Laurel VFD)
Apartment Fire – 7100blk Hanover Parkway (Berwyn Heights VFD)
3-Alarm Fire – 6200blk Springhill Ct (Berwyn Heights VFD)
Five Alarm Fire In Glenmont Destroys 42 Apartments - June 19, 2005- 12100 block of Shorefield Court (Kensington VFD)
Vienna Apartment Fire Displaces Sixty-Five Residents (Fairfax County FD)
Springfield Garden Apartment Fire (Fairfax County FD)
Perhaps nothing better sums up the problems with garden apartments than this brief from the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department (Prince George's County, Maryland - Company 33):
WORKER FALLS FROM ROOF OF "NEW" LOW-INCOME HOUSING
For those interested in how fire fighters plan for and fight garden apartment fires, see a Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation by the Montgomery County Department of Fire and Rescue here (3.3 MB).
Do garden apartment complexes have a monopoly on fires? No, of course not. But garden apartment fires seem to impact lots of people (including fatalities).
Consider the following recent incidents:
People Rescued During 3-Alarm Fire In Wheaton (from NBC4)
Three Alarm Apartment Fire - Georgian Way (Burtonsville VFD)
Two Alarm Apartment Fire In Wheaton - - April 8, 2006 - 0342 hours (Kensington VFD)
10857 Amherst Ave (from TheWatchDesk.com)
Garden Apartment Fire - Amherst Avenue (Burtonsville VFD)
2300 Blue Ridge Ave(also TheWatchDesk.com)
2nd Alarm Fire in Laurel (Laurel VFD)
Apartment Fire – 7100blk Hanover Parkway (Berwyn Heights VFD)
3-Alarm Fire – 6200blk Springhill Ct (Berwyn Heights VFD)
Five Alarm Fire In Glenmont Destroys 42 Apartments - June 19, 2005- 12100 block of Shorefield Court (Kensington VFD)
Vienna Apartment Fire Displaces Sixty-Five Residents (Fairfax County FD)
Springfield Garden Apartment Fire (Fairfax County FD)
Perhaps nothing better sums up the problems with garden apartments than this brief from the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department (Prince George's County, Maryland - Company 33):
WORKER FALLS FROM ROOF OF "NEW" LOW-INCOME HOUSING
For those interested in how fire fighters plan for and fight garden apartment fires, see a Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation by the Montgomery County Department of Fire and Rescue here (3.3 MB).
Comments:
Townhouse style or rowhouse style is better, or the sort of "courtyard" apartments pioneered in Los Angeles. I agree that the "triple deckers" that are the standard for suburban apartment dwellers also suffer from the problem of not having sufficient privacy, among other things.
Smaller buildings (2-6 units) are better overall anyway, have more privacy, are less intrusive on single family neighborhoods, and serve to get smaller property owners into the business. You see lots of small apartment buildings in older areas, but never any in new suburbs, except a handful of New Urbanist projects.
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Smaller buildings (2-6 units) are better overall anyway, have more privacy, are less intrusive on single family neighborhoods, and serve to get smaller property owners into the business. You see lots of small apartment buildings in older areas, but never any in new suburbs, except a handful of New Urbanist projects.
