Ellen Dunham-Jones: Retrofitting Suburbia

A TED talk by Ellen Dunham-Jones and her research on various way of retrofitting "underperforming asphalt" in suburbia to create more dense, walkable communities with a more "urban" feel. It's the New Urbanism again, and, as usual, it's very appealing. The biggest problem with these retrofits is attracting the investment dollars. Commercial real estate in the US is as under water as the housing market, or worse. Banks just don't want to lend more dollars to dead malls just because we can make them look more attractive. There have to be jobs and commercial enterprises to support that kind of investment.