Urban sprawl repair kit still leading "Reburbia" contest but being followed closely by reimagined "towers in the park"

We tweeted about Dwell Magazine's Reburbia contest earlier this week. The publication is having a contest for the best way to retrofit suburbia for a more sustainable built environment. The finalists range from the practical to the fantastic, with some ideas seeming to have stronger roots in sci-fi than planning (Airships? Really?).

Galina Tahchieva's urban repair toolkit, with its proven methods of turning sprawling space into livable neighborhoods, continues to lead. However, it is followed closely by T-Tree, a plan for module housing towers that would make Le Corbusier proud. Though the interior sustainability and aesthetics of the design are admirable, it is essentially a 21st century rehash of the "tower in the park" plan that has proved so disastrous to both our cities and our suburbs. It's easy to imagine those unsupervised green areas around the towers surrounded by parking spaces or crime.

If you haven't already, consider heading over to the Reburbia site and giving Galina's sensible toolkit a vote.

Image: Adil Azhiyev, Ivan Kudryavtsev's T-Tree entry, from the Reburbia website.