TOWN PLANNING

ARCHITECT : CLARENCE STEIN

CLARENCE S. STEIN

ABOUT HIS INNOVATIONS

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

PUBLISHED WORK

The Writings of Clarence S.

Beginning in 1923 Stein and
Stein: Architect of the Planned
Henry Wright collaborated
Community, 1998
on the plan for Sunnyside
Toward New Towns for
Gardens, a neighborhood of
America, 1951
the New York City borough of
Kitimat: A New City, 1954
Queens.
Report of the Commission of

The 77-acre (310,000 m2)

Housing and Regional
low-rise pedestrian-oriented
Planning to Governor Alfred...,
development was
1925
constructed between 1924
Primer of Housing, 1927 (coto 1929.
author)
Born-June 19, 1882
It was funded by fellow
Store Buildings and
Rochester, New York
RPAA officer Alexander Bing
Neighbourhood Shopping
Died-February 7, 1975
and took the garden city
Centres, 1934
(aged 92)
ideas of Sir Ebenezer
Radburn, Town for the Motor
Occupation-Urban
Howard as a model. This
Age, 1965
planner, architect, writer
neighborhood has retained
Hillside
Homes, 1936
Known for-Proponent of
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
its special character and has
the Garden City
beenPROJECT
listed on
the National
WORK
Clarence Stein's work expanded the
movement
Register of Historical Places
idea of a Garden City. He believed in
The first of these projects was
ABOUT HIS PRACTICE
Sunnyside Gardens in Queens, molding urban construction into nature.
He brought these two aspects together
New York.
Sunnyside Gardens, a seventy- to make a modern yet comfortable
Moving back to New
environment.
seven acre low-rise
York in 1919, he
Other Accomplishments
opened his own
development, was constructed
from 1924-29. This was followed Chatham Village, Pittsburgh
practice. In 1921, he
Phipps Garden Apartments (I) and
by Radburn.
began a long and
(II), New York City
In these projects, Stein, Henry
fruitful collaboration
Valley Stream Project
Wright and Alexander Bing
with architect Henry
A diagram showing the street
Greenbelt, Maryland
rethought the basic social and
Wright (1878-1936).
network structure of Radburn
This charismatic
environmental needs, as well as Green Brook, New Jersey
and its nested hierarchy.
Greendale, Wisconsin
partnership would
the financing and physical
Separate pedestrian paths
Baldwin Hills Village, Los Angeles
layout, of the American urban
produce some of the
run through the green spaces
Kitimat, British Columbia
residential community; in so
most innovative urban
between the culs-de-sac and
doing, they created new urban
planning in the history
through the central green
forms.(an excellent blog about
of the United States.
spine (Note: the shaded area
these communities
was not built)

(1882-1975), one of the

twentieth centurys most
profound visionaries, led
ground breaking
innovations in urban
planning.
Though trained as an
architect, he was also a
persuasive writer. Born,
raised and educated in
New York, Stein was
primarily considered an
East Coast figure, though
he did have strong and
early ties to Southern
California.
After studying
architecture at Columbia
University and the cole
des Beaux-Artsin Paris,
Stein returned to the
United States in 1911,
joining the firm of
Bertram Good hue in New
York.

CLARENCE S. STEIN

LOCATION IN NEW YORK CITY

SUNNYSIDE, QUEENS

Sunnyside is a [high class neighbourhood in

the Western portion of the New York City
borough of Queens.
It shares borders with Hunters Point and Long
Island City to the west, Astoria to the north,
Woodside to the east and Maspeth to the south.
The neighborhood is part of Queens
Roughly bounded by
Community District 2, served by Queens
Queens Blvd., 43rd and
Community Board 2.
52nd Sts. Barnett and
The land was originally owned by French
settlers in the 1800s. The name "Sunnyside" is Skillman Aves., New York,
New York
derived from Sunnyside Hill Farms, so named Area
53 acres
by the Bragraws family who owned the land.
(21ha)
[2] Sunnyside was a rural hamlet mostly
Built
1924
consisting of small farms and marshland.
It was incorporated into Long Island City in
Architect
Stein,Clarence;
1870, and developed into a bedroom
Wright,Henry
Architectur Colonial
community after the Queensboro Bridge was
alstyle
Revival, Art
completed in 1909.
Deco
A large portion of the neighborhood is sixHIS OPINIONS
story apartment buildings constructed during
the 1920s and '30s.
After living at the Village Green
for over six years, I can
personally attest to the
transformative powers it has,
successfully bringing people
together. I believe that most
people who live in the Village feel
equally passionate about the
place we all call home - and Ive
seen that same pride and passion
in the residents of Wyvernwood,
as theyto
fight
Though our means were modest, we contrived
liveto
in save
an their
community.
environment where space, sunlight, order,
color - these essential
ingredients for either life or art - were constantly present,
silently molding all of us."

Sunnyside Gardens includes one-, two-, and threefamily homes, and a few apartment buildings, all
made of Hudson brick (it was inexpensive, durable,
and available). Each private residence has a small
front garden facing the street and a private garden
in the rear. The rental units in the two- and threefamily houses enjoy private terraces overlooking the
gardens. There are two configurations: the courtyard
condition and the mews condition; at the edges of
the community some homes simply line the street,
with a common walkway running the length of the
row. Homes in the courtyard blocks enclose an inner
courtyard that was designated a common,
landscaped but not used for recreation. Each
homeowner actually owned, and paid taxes on, the
part of the common in the block and lot, even if it
wasLAYOUT
not used.
The mews houses face a common
PLANS
front court and back on alleys; each mews house
also has a private rear yard.

CLARENCE S. STEIN
SUNNYSIDE, QUEENS

PRINCIPALS BY STEIN

City principles developed by Stein and

Wright, were:
Superblock large parcel with few or
no through streets, which consolidated
open green spaces for use by the
residents;
Specialized roads all auto circulation
Freedom from
Clarence Stein and the
on the perimeter garage courts for
dangers of the
Carmelitos architects
storing of cars;
automobile at
working on the site plan
Complete separation of pedestrian and Radburn
using wooden blocks, 1938
automobile tame the automobile
safer for children;
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GARDEN CITIES
Houses turned toward gardens and
parks this arrangement turned the
Because of his innovations in urban planning on
structures outside in, placing the living
the East Coast, in early 1938 Clarence Stein was
room windows towards the green
hired by the Housing Authority of the County of
spaces;
Los Angeles to serve as the consulting architect
The park as the backbone large
on its first two projects Carmelitos and Harbor
green spaces dominate, rather than
Hills.
Particularly at Radburn, Stein
and Wright created a revolution in
streets.
planning, which would truly deal for the first time with the problem In August and September 1938, Stein travelled
to California to meet with Housing Authority
and dangers of the automobile.
officials and the architects involved with the
Stein had written that what he hoped his communities would offer
projects with whom he would work.
was a beautiful environment, a home for children, an opportunity to
The first of these - Carmelitos in Long Beach,
enjoy the days leisure and the ability to ride on the Juggernaut of
(Kenneth S. Wing and Cecil A. Schilling, architects;
industry, instead of being prostrated under its wheels.
Ralph D. Cornell, landscape architect) - would
At Radburn, a community within a community, automobile traffic
provide 607 homes for families whose annual
was separated as much as possible from pedestrian traffic, and for
incomes ranged from $900 to $1,200 annually
the first time a largely residential superblock concept of planning
The fifty acre site had eighty-seven buildings,
was used. Radburn was followed in the 1930s by more towns for
arranged in such a way that ample parking was
the motor age
provided, but automobile and pedestrian traffic was
Chatham Village (Pittsburgh), Phipps Garden Apartments and
kept as separate as possible. A backyard garden
Sunnyside (Long Island) and Hillside Homes (the Bronx). In addition
was provided for every family, and provisions were
to beauty and promotion of social life for their inhabitants, the basic
made for playgrounds, an outdoor nursery school,
Garden
and other recreation areas for both children and
Stein and Wrights philosophies were embraced by the government
during the early years of the Great Depression, serving as the design adults.
standard for the public housing programs.

CLARENCE S. STEIN
CLARENCE STEIN'S CONCEPTION OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD UNIT

In the figure , show's grouping of three

neighbourhood units is served by a high
school and one or two commercial centres.
Walking distance radius is one mile.
In the figure A, elementary school is the
centre of the unit and within a one half mile
radius of all residents in the neighbourhood,
local shopping centres located near the
school.
Residential streets are suggested as CULDE-SACS to eliminate through traffic and
park space flows into the neighbourhood as
FUNCTIONAL URBAN SPACES
applied in the Radburn plan.
The activities of the town takes place in
public spaces. In the city there are wide
range of public spaces which are
differentiated by the pattern of their
functions and circulation system.
In Neighbourhood unit concept, which is
being used as the planning unit for the
town ASSEMBLIES.
or city consists
PUBLIC
of following urban spaces for,
1. Streets and squares
2. Parks and Maidan
3. Precinct
4. Recreation green
5. Civic and Religious
Building
6. Sports
7. Shopping Complexes
8. Community centres for
public assembly

FORMATION OF SCHOOL.

Clarence Stein placed the elementaryschool at

the center of the neighborhoodunit and within
mile radius of all
residents.
A small shopping center for daily needs is
located near the school.Most residential streets
are suggested as cul-de-sac or dead-end roads
to eliminate through traffic, and park
space
flows through the neighborhood in a manner
reminiscent of the Radburn Plan.
He further expanded the definition of
neighborhood center by connecting the
neighborhoods together to create towns.
The diagram shows the grouping of three
neighborhood units served by a high schooland
URBAN SPACES INone
A or two major commercial centers,the radius
for
walking distance to these facilities being one
NEIGHBOURHOOD
UNIT
mile.
Urban space : The space is
geometrically
bounded by a
variety of
elevations of the
buildings.
It is only the clear
legitibility of
The definition of the five-minute
geometric
walking radius neighborhood is
characteristics
part of the American
and aesthetic
Institute of Architects
quality which
Architectural Graphics
allows us to
Standards which is an industry
preserve the
standard for
external space as
dimensional criteria for buildings
the urban space.