by James A. Bacon
My dad was a naval officer and, as consequence, I spent a good part of my youth in Norfolk. Although we lived off base, we regularly drove to the naval station to frequent the commissary, the doctor, the movie theater and the barber shop (25 cents bought you any kind of hair cut you wanted, as long as it was a buzz). No doubt the physical layout has changed in the half century since, but I do recall that it was a place where the only way to get about was in a car. The buildings were long and flat, surrounded by parking lots. The distances between destinations were considerable, and the streetscapes were sterile and univiting. I don’t remember doing much walking or seeing other people walking. No one rode bicycles either. The enlisted men’s housing was segregated from everything else — mixed use development was a foreign concept. There may have been base buses on the base but I never rode them.
The physical layout of Naval Base Norfolk was, in many ways, a mirror of 1960s society, paralleling the low-density, segregated land-use pattern of development prevalent in the nation’s sprawling suburbs. It has been years since I have visited the naval base, but a look at Google Maps suggests that little has changed.
But time moves on and, according to the D.C. Streets Blog, legislation moving through Congress would bring smart growth sensibilities to the nation’s military bases. An amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, writes Tanya Snyder, would require bases “to consider compact, infill development that preserves land and considers life-cycle costs in their master planning. The plans should also consider growth boundaries, expand transit options, and create connections to off-base transit systems.”
While one of the motives is to foster environmental sustainability by reducing the carbon footprint, another is to reduce costs, which probably explains why the bill won approval of a Republican-dominated House of Representatives.
Take a look at the Norfolk base. Vast expanses are consumed by horizontal buildings and acres of parking lots. The residential compounds are physically separated from the ships, working areas and base amenities. It is easy to visualize a design in which military housing shifts to multi-story dwellings in much closer proximity to the ships and facilities. Closer proximity allows more people to walk, which eliminates the need for so much parking… which allows more multi-story housing to be built nearby. With the exception of the airfield, the base could be reduced to perhaps half its size.
A smaller footprint for the naval base would allow one of the following: (1) the Navy could consolidate other facilities to Norfolk or (2) the Navy could sell excess land for private-sector development. The location in the very heart of Hampton Roads is prime, and the land possibly could command a premium price.
Given the budgetary constraints of the federal government, the military must cut expenses. The brain-dead way is to cut the number of ships, aircraft and ground units. The better though more difficult way is to make more efficient use of existing assets. In theory, applying smart growth principles to military bases should rank high on the list of priorities. City officials in Hampton Roads should look at this as a golden opportunity to advance economic development in the region.
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