The Town That Snooki Built
So, I just returned from the quintessential Philadelphia Memorial Day pastime of going “downa shore”. I had never really been much of a shore person save for the odd summer day at one of the many beach towns or a sojourn to Rehoboth in Delaware, so I was thrilled to be going to Sea Isle City, NJ. The town was quite wonderful and it sparked a serious internal conversation (I regularly talk to myself) on urban structure and transportation planning. As evidenced by the premium real estate values, it would appear that people actually prefer compact development and decreased use of personal vehicles, no? Like many vacation destinations, there is a large emphasis on small-town living, if not in function, then in form. Like the Napervilles and Chestnut Hills of the world, Sea Isle’s streets and blocks are of congenial widths and lengths, beach houses are on smaller lots abutting the street, the sidewalk network is robust and connected, and commercial uses are interspersed within neighborhoods. All of which adds up to creating a vastly human-scaled destination. Cars, admittedly, are the dominant transportation mode, but what is remarkable is the lack of crippling traffic. Perhaps the tacit agreement that driving is reserved for higher value trips, or those of significant distance, and walking or cycling can accomplish most local needs contributes to the Mayberry-ness of living at the shore.
Whereas towns like Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia and Grosse Pointe in Detroit have walkable and desirable towns borne from the need to create proximal density adjacent commuter rail lines feeding their central cities, the shore has such spatial efficiency challenges due to limited developable land. Increased land values begin to dictate building forms, albeit those that can garner an acceptable return on investment and with which the market is capable of absorbing. And that is where the small-lot duplexes in Sea Isle fit 
the bill- the beach is the commuter rail station of the coastal variety That being said, with a median house value of over $600,000, it would suggest that either Sea Isle is content on becoming an island paradise for millionaires and investors or that more affordable (read: anything less that $300,000) condos could stand to be built for ownership. Growing your residential density surely calls for further scrutiny by local governments and is deserving of its own discussion, but judging by the $600k price tag of countless beach houses, there is a latent demand for walkable density.
Sea Isle’s official population density of 1,287 persons per square mile is most likely substantially less than the in-season density, which I would estimate to be at least double. Regardless, these quaint beach towns ostensibly dismantle the notion that density decreases property values or that accommodating alternative forms of transportation contributes to a less efficient transportation system. Or, more importantly, that people don’t like density! Suburban and fringe counties can leverage this affinity for walkable development by encouraging such building forms and by working with developers on new projects. In an age of decreased jobs and promises that a potential Wal-Mart will supply hundreds, responsive suburban development doesn’t have to preclude siting a big box (and job generator) in suburban communities. Even if it’s not a stunningly urbane store format, mandating pedestrian infrastructure at the outset will allow for greater accessibility and ensure better future site adaptation for a world with increasingly expensive oil (yes, I went there).
So if you’re looking to create compact suburban development responsive to carbon emissions, with highly desirable property and elevated levels of accessibility, model your town after the Jersey Shore. And if suburban parking requirements are causing unfortunate situations, then…call the Situation. I’m sure he can fix your, well, situation. GTL.
