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Growing Closer 1 monotony Many examples of “bad” density arise from the “stack ’em and pack ’em” approach to housing design, which is tempting to developers in our age of mass produc- tion. This option has been available since the 1940s, when William Levitt built 17,000 homes seemingly overnight on a Long Island potato field. Applying factory techniques to on- site construction and working at a large scale, his development company created an instant suburb of affordable homes, which sold quickly to first-time homebuyers. Levitt’s strategy relied on speed and standardization. He offered only one model—a 30-by-20-foot Cape Cod–style house—that stood in a uni- form location on a standardized lot. By eliminating variety and employing an assembly-line construction method, Levitt pro- duced thousands of homes in record time. Levittown became a model for the successful mass production of housing. It also became an icon of 1950s uniformity. While large-scale standardization brings down the cost of construction and makes housing more affordable, it also breeds monotony. When the same building form is repeated relent- lessly across a broad area, it provokes a response that there are “too many” structures, regardless of the actual number. Density is perceived to be greater than it is. All too often, the term “density” evokes an image of repeti- tive, featureless housing developments with little greenery and no privacy. Some dense neighborhoods are bleak, but it’s not a function of how many housing units are built on each acre. Crowding and monotony are the consequences of poor design, not the inevitable results of density. how we Can Love denSiT y If the next 25 years are like the past quarter-century, we will continue to spread ourselves thin across a diminishing land- scape. If our fear of density persists and we build the next 60 million housing units at 3 to 5 units per acre, the costs will be huge. To maintain the low-density lifestyle in this new era ■ 1-30AX1801 Top and bottom: Las Vegas, Nevada Opposite: Chicago, Illinois 1-30AX1801 050309-0186