November 30, 1999
Web posted at: 1:44 p.m. EDT

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(CNN) -- Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Miami, joined CNN.com on Tuesday, November 23, 1999, to discuss the need to revitalize our urban centers with enlightened architectural planning. A founder of the Congress for New Urbanism, Ms. Plater-Zyberk was also a member of the team who built the town of Seaside for the movie "The Truman Show." The following is an edited transcript of the chat.

Chat Moderator: Thank you for joining us today, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and welcome to the chat!

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: Thank you.

Chat Moderator: Please tell us a little bit about your background.

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: I am an architect by training and avocation. I have 20 years of experience practicing architecture and doing town planning. I am currently the Dean of Architecture at the University of Miami.

I'm one of the founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism. The CNU is an international membership group of close to 2,000 people who are searching for alternatives to urban sprawl. We are architects, planners, developers, lawyers, citizen activists, mayors and, through practice and research, we are trying to change the way cities have grown in the 20th Century, which we may call the "disposable city syndrome." Cities have sprawled seemingly endlessly while the older parts of the core have been deteriorating.

Question from ameliaarchitect: What are some of the alternatives?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: The first alternative is to rebuild and intensify existing urbanism by filling downtowns and redeveloping abandoned areas. One thinks of places like large parts of Detroit or Miami. The second step would be to make sure all new growth is pedestrian friendly and transit oriented. That is the most schematic outline of what we should be doing differently. The New Urbanism proposes this with much richer, detailed instruction beyond these two points.

Question from Sugar: With urban development, it seems that architecture becomes less and less about art and more and more about environmental issues. What are your feelings about this?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: I think new building needs to be about both issues, art and environment. For many years, building cities was called civic art. That was before people became specialists. Artists, engineers, architects, environmentalists are now specialists. But for many centuries, all of those activities were carried out by one profession. So I would suggest that architecture is multidisciplinary and one needs to know about many aspects to do it wisely.

Chat Moderator: How have these changes affected the education of architects?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: In architecture schools today, there is a growing commitment to the larger context for architecture. One might call them environmental issues, urban design, the social context, or the economic framework. But I think the schools are attempting to place architecture at the heart of many disciplines after many years of teaching architecture as an autonomous endeavor.

Chat Moderator: What are the major schools for a person who wants to get into architecture as a career?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: There are over 100 schools of architecture in the country, all of which tend to have a unique character. That means that, beyond teaching the essential issues that enable one to be a licensed architect, the schools teach a variety of other issues. If you are interested in the New Urbanism as a context for studying architecture, there are several schools that will facilitate that.

First, I have to speak chiefly of my own: The School of Architecture at the University of Miami at Coral Gables, Florida, which presents architecture as part of a larger social, urban, and environmental context. We have a master of architecture and town planning which inspires and enriches the professional-degree program. And we are a small school, probably the only one totally devoted to these values of the New Urbanism.

There are other places where one can engage this topic, however. With individual faculties, such as Berkeley, Penn, Yale, and, if the enquiry comes from somewhere else in the country, visit the school and see who is interested in what. People will tell you very frankly whether the school is interested in this topic or not.

Question from ameliaarchitect: What kinds of obstacles did you have to overcome at Seaside with respect to D.E.P.?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: I assume that means the Department of Environmental Protection. Very few. Seaside presented very few environmental problems because it was environmentally sensitive to begin with. We removed trees only for the footprints of the buildings. And when the state changed the shoreline setback, it caused no problems because the original design already had a significant setback from the dune.

Question from sonbi: An article in "The Washington Post" today discussed the smart growth movement emerging in inner suburbs like Arlington, Virginia. How will the CNU and others address the desire of communities to manage their growth while at the same time encouraging in-fill development?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: The CNU is aligned directly with smart growth. We would like to think the terms are synonymous. Sonbi, do you mean "what do you do about NIMBY's in in-fill situations?"

sonbi: Well, some of Washington's inner suburbs, where in-fill should be going, are now taking stands against in-fill.

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: This is clearly a difficult situation, of which we are all painfully aware. The most important tool to resolve this issue would be to build excellent examples of higher density neighborhoods and districts so that they would be welcomed and invited to existing areas. A larger understanding of transportation, retrofitting, and environmental restoration must accompany them, so that there is obvious understanding by the public of the larger regional framework. Because this is still a partial picture, in-fill sites usually are being done one at a time without benefit of a regional framework.

The next best thing we can do is to build new places of higher density that will likewise become the models to eventually allay the fears of existing neighborhoods. Clearly, there needs to be a picture of regional governance in which density and transportation are distributed over a region. But then it might be up to each community to determine how to design or place their required density. So it is a combination of regional benefits and local control.

Question from ameliaarchitect: How does Americans’ love of their vehicles factor in density and in-fill?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: Well, most of us love our vehicles when we aren't stuck in traffic. This picture of a transit-oriented and pedestrian-friendly environment is one that does not eliminate the automobile but reserves it for pleasurable and more efficient use.

Question from Sugar: What has been your biggest challenge as an architect?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: Probably working with existing communities and the fears of residents that new building represents environmental deterioration and diminishing quality of life. These are real fears if you look retrospectively at the last half of this century.

Chat Moderator: Please tell us what differences you encountered between planning the city for "The Truman Show" and planning an actual city.

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: Well, Seaside, the setting for "The Truman Show," was a new town in an unbuilt place when it was designed. It was one property owner. Decisions could be made fairly easily. When working with existing cities, one might be dealing not only with a more complex government but also with many property owners, which creates a more complex regulatory environment. Possibly, there could be some underlying issues of environmental pollution or such degradation and hopelessness that marketing studies would tell builders not to build there. So is much more difficult to build or rebuild in places that have already been built in existing cities, generally speaking, than it is to build new in unbuilt places. And one should acknowledge that even in a greenfield situation, public participation and the regulatory environment are making it much more difficult.

Question from DVerdin: Do you feel there is a more creative design process when architects are presented with challenging and strict building codes in towns such as Seaside?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: I think I understand the question but I would answer it off-center a bit. Good cities and good neighborhoods are made with a certain amount of building harmony and an understanding that buildings are a background for human activity in the public realm. So most buildings should present a face to that public realm, which is supportive of its neighbors rather than screaming for its own attention. These are the urban regulations that New Urbanists write about -- establishing a tune for everyone to play together. There is an appropriate place for individual expression. That would be public buildings such as the meeting halls, the post office, the museums, the church, the schools, and those places that represent the culture of the society and its aspirations. But, generally speaking, housing, shops, and workplaces are a backdrop to the public realm, which has been activated and identified by the civic structures.

Question from Doverkohl: Andres Duany has been vocally pragmatic about greenfield development. What are your thoughts on the oft-leveled criticism that NU spends too much time on "sprawl" development?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: I agree with Duany. He is my partner in my firm. But we both believe that the most important thing to be doing is to rebuild existing cities. Indeed, many New Urbanist practices have 50 percent or more of their work in existing neighborhoods. However, this doesn't receive the publicity that the greenfield work received. So we are constantly battling the image that our priority is building new sites, even though that isn't true statistically. We should point out that the majority of the building in this country is new construction on greenfield sites. And market successes on greenfield sites have a good influence on some of the impediments to rebuilding old places such as market studies, financing, changing government regulations, and so on. So, if all we ever did was try to rebuild old places, we wouldn't get anywhere. We wouldn't be as successful as we have been.

Question from John: Many cities are building new convention centers. What are your views on replacing the traditional type convention and the entire convention center with an online Internet cyber convention center for product display, demos, lectures, etc.

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: Ummm....I have recently seen some excellent new convention centers being fit into existing downtowns like Philadelphia. Even though they are large, they do not need to be destructive. I think there will always be the desire for people to gather in large groups, whether they are doctors, lawyers, architects, or New Urbanists. Nothing will replace the desire to meet occasionally in large numbers of a certain characteristic. People like to get together.

One of the things the Congress for the New Urbanism does for its members is hold an annual conference. But I do agree that there are many meetings that we now travel to that can be replaced by electronic communication. And I look forward to some of that myself.

Question from Candyce: What kinds of urban spaces work best? How do you create the impression of space?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: Buildings and landscape form urban space. There is empirical knowledge of what good dimensions for public space are. From the narrowest mews in historic Philadelphia, which is spaced by three- and four-story townhouses, to the Washington Mall, which is a public space at a national scale, the relationship of the size of the scale to its use, and the proportion of its width to the height of its containment (whether it is trees or building walls), are important characteristics of urban space.

I think everyone knows it when they experience it. You know that street in your city, that plaza in a European city…when you enter it, you feel good. There is an immediate psychological impact of pleasure when you experience the space.

I was just in Savannah, which has beautiful urban squares. They are all green parks; they have lovely trees and buildings lining them. And the square that is still surrounded by historical buildings is a breathtaking experience. The squares which have parking lots or garages overlooking them, on the other hand, are clearly an inferior experience. From these experiences, we can make a few simple rules about making spaces pedestrians are comfortable in.

Question from DVerdin: Have there been many cases of gentrification in your urban revitalizations? What are your feelings towards this matter?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: Much of our urban work desires gentrification. The word gentrification implies the improvement of a place such that existing residents or business will be forced to leave. There are ways to deal with that…regulatory ways, to keep people in place while improving the physical environment. One of the reasons people worry about gentrification is that cities often have situations where, in the midst of expensive real estate, there are some less-wealthy areas. And those who live there fear that they will be excluded from the experience of the city. That is a legitimate concern, because the goal should be making that urban experience accessible to all income levels. But there are many places in which poverty or deterioration is so entrenched that they would indeed benefit if their physical improvement would bring new residents or businesses in. Bringing new businesses into depressed neighborhoods is important because it brings in new jobs. This is a situation which must be carefully managed. But we should not fear acting because we failed in the past. We should learn from our failures and successes and keep trying.

Question from SBrennan: Our population is aging, but universal design doesn't seem to be a big priority for many architects. Is that because they can't personally relate to the need for universal design?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: We have architectural convention which has been part of our practice for many centuries without the new types of building elements that universal design requires. For instance, there are many beautiful examples of buildings of all types with stairs leading to the front door, both in our cities and history books. There are fewer examples of ramps in front of buildings that are beautifully designed. So, in a sense, this is a new typology, which challenges us to develop a repertoire of building elements that we haven't had before. And change takes time. Just think of the townhouse with a stoop and how much one must reconsider its design if that stoop were to become a ramp.

Question from Sugar: How have the demographics of architects changed over the years? Are there more women or minority architects? What challenges (if any) have you faced as a woman in you field?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: The demographics have changed. When I was in school, there were few women. Now most schools, including my own, have more than 50 percent women studying architecture. In the profession, one does not see as many women as in law or medicine. And one reason is that it is very demanding as a profession.

We need to make special effort for the African American community. It is still a minority that is not too visible in the profession. Although, in my school, the numbers reflect the general population, in other schools, they are still a minority. We need to make special efforts.

Because I live in Miami, we have a large Hispanic population, so it is not underrepresented, but I daresay that it might be underrepresented elsewhere in the country. In terms if those minorities, we are still perceived as an elite profession that is not essential to society's benefit. Therefore earnest young people who are thinking about the contribution they wish to make may not understand the contribution that the design of physical environment makes in human well being.

Question from DVerdin: For a man with few "built" works, what impact have the ideas and ideals of Leon Krier had on New Urbanism?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: Leon Krier is one of the most important influences on the principles espoused by the charter for the New Urbanism. For those who don't know, Krier is a European architect who has spent a lifetime writing, drawing, lecturing, and teaching. He has designed a number of noteworthy plans for European cities, including for Poundbury, whose developer is the Prince of Wales, who might be called a New Urbanist.

I would highly recommend Krier's books, including, "Architecture, Choice or Fate" (Academy Editions).

Chat Moderator: What can we expect from future architects?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: We should DEMAND that we be educated in a multi-disciplined way so that we can fulfill the expectations that society has for us now. Those expectations are that we exert some control over the built environment, so that we are building beautiful places that are welcomed and which inspire their users to preserve them. For more on this, http://www.arc.miami.edu is our website and www.cnu.org is the CNU website.

Chat Moderator: Any final thoughts?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: I would encourage as much of this kind of conversation as possible. There is a lot of work to be done and we need good people to do it. Thank you, CNN, for giving me this opportunity. I welcome communication on these issues. We in the congress try to be as accessible as possible.

Chat Moderator: Thank you for chatting with us today, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk!

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: Thank you! And thank you all for your participation.