Taking 'Burb' ideas from drawing board to reality

It's important to get beyond the alphabet soup of high-minded ideas generated by the "Build a Better Burb" competition.

They may seem to look and sound better on paper than in reality - especially on Long Island.

But if we can get beyond the jargon that marks some of the ideas, they might just work.

Could "Levittown: Increasing Density & Opportunity through Accessory Dwellings" help keep generations of families across the region together?

In other words, would it help to change zoning laws to allow single-family lot homeowners to build apartments closer to fence lines? That would let seniors age in place, while allowing them to sell their now-too-big main house to adult children who otherwise would seek cheaper housing elsewhere?

They'd get a home. And Grandma and Grandpa would be able to entertain grandkids in the same yard where they raised their own.

"There are a number of homes that already have illegal accessory apartments," said Meri Tepper, a member of the team from Parsons The New School for Design, one of the competition's winners.

"This would give homeowners the option of building units to their specifics, to their needs," she said.

That might work, if neighbors agree and if the neighborhood has the sewer, electric and other infrastructure to support additional building. The idea could also increase density in a controlled way.

Could "SUBHUB Transit System," which would create neighborhood transportation hubs on school land, be a way to create new sources of desperately needed revenue for local school districts?

Think of it.

The districts would get revenue from transit companies and boutique businesses using the land. And residents could walk or bike in their own neighborhoods to board a small van, which would drop them at the grocer, doctor or mall.

"There is school land everywhere, in every community and in every neighborhood," said Michael Piper, a member of the DUB team which created the concept.

Less fossil fuel. More exercise. A hard combination to beat.

There were times during Monday's news conference on the competition winners when it got hard to pick up any sense of excitement in what was going on.

That's because titles like "Long Division" can't adequately describe the concept of building, say, senior housing in a botanical garden. Or adding more bike storage space around train stations. All with the goal of lessening contamination to the region's aquifers, the source of our drinking water.

June Williamson, an adviser for the competition, said that one or more of the ideas - with variations - could work in a number of local communities.

In Huntington, "SUBHUB ... " could help residents get out of neighborhoods into major shopping areas; in Hempstead, it could move residents out to jobs and fuel the establishment of more businesses by bringing workers in.

In Elmont, "Upcycling 2.0," which makes use of everything from pooling income to innovative community spaces, could help speed revitalization in a community that has pushed aside divisions to work for the common good.

In Hicksville, which is beginning its revitalization effort, some parts of "LIRR: Long Island Radically Transformed" might work well. The project essentially advances the notion that development proceed in clusters.

Sort of like magnet schools, which would become the economic, social and governmental center of a community.

The notion is sound. The challenge is to make the sale on Long Island, where we love our cars, lawns, and privacy so much that we're out of land, don't have enough public transportation, and have seen our young adults move away.

Building a Better Burb is a start in the right direction toward badly needed change. Long Island's future depends on it.