Learning from lost landscapes: a role for local history in suburban infill strategies

Infill development in inner suburbs is key to achieving greater urban sustainability. Where developers see opportunities in inner suburbs, there is the challenge of integrating denser construction into landscapes valued for their distinctness from central cities. This paper argues that planners and designers can create strategies for achieving context-sensitive infill by studying the historic form of older suburban downtowns. It considers a historically inspired approach to infill development in the Watertown Square area of Watertown, Massachusetts. It also discusses the area’s evolution through a review of Sanborn maps and historical planning documents, and proposes a design strategy for infill there.