Opinions will vary on whether suburbs are inherently good or bad as government strategy for housing and transportation (my vote: bad). But it shouldn’t be controversial to say suburban design belongs in the suburbs and urban design belongs in the city.
And yet, Salt Lakers continue to see their built environment undermined by suburban planning. Most frustrating is when these mistakes are made by those who should know better—like the Salt Lake City School District.
Recently, SLCSD tore down its aged but urban headquarters on 100 South and replaced it with what looks like a roadside Motel 6, ringed by a moat of asphalt. And that failure is nothing compared to the district’s irredeemable plans for West High, which would replace a 100-year-old treasure with a suburban warehouse for the daily confinement of children…