Colorado Sprawl Action
Center's
Growth Management Toolkit
Table of Contents | Introduction | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11
Designing
Livable Communities:
Problem | Solution | Applications
| Internet Resources
Problem
Sprawling developments that grow far from community or urban centers may lack community identity. Neighborhoods have become a string of single family homes set far back from the street. Garages have taken the place of front porches and families now retreat to the backyard to socialize. Modern day suburban development trends have restructured the way neighborhoods look and feel. Large lot single family residence zoning requirements and minimum setbacks may create an increased reliance on the automobile as well as a lack of affordable housing options.
Outside of these cookie-cutter developments, strip-shopping malls have sprung up to offer these families services. However, people may not have the option of living within walking distance of work or shopping opportunities. Often there are no safe pathways, sidewalks nor bicycle lanes, that connect neighborhoods to these services. This auto-centric style of development takes away from the friendliness of a community.
In addition, there may be a lack of centralized recreation areas such as parks or playgrounds. A common gathering and recreation area heightens a community’s sense of awareness and safety.
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Example of a residential design that promotes neighborhood safety though increased awareness and participation in neighborhood activity. |
Solution
Certain basic design elements can profoundly impact the attainability of desirable, walkable, quality communities. Municipalities nationwide have begun changing long-standing auto-centric design requirements to incorporate fewer cars and encourage more people-oriented communities. Some of the most common of these new design elements include promoting mixed-use developments, narrowing streets, reducing parking requirements for new developments, and adopting a wide range of policies that encourage pedestrian, transit, and bicycle transportation options.
Design standards do more than simply set the tone for how a community will look - they can have a tremendous impact on how a community will function. “Design” can encompass everything from an area’s prescribed zoning to its look and feel. Using a variety of lot sizes, unit types, and a mix of “storefront” retail and residential zoning can help ensure a vibrant neighborhood for residents of various ages and income levels. Encouraging smaller driveways, wider sidewalks, curbside parking and narrower streets will create neighborhoods that have the look and feel of community.
Diversifying away from single-family zoning with prescribed minimum lot sizes and setbacks and incorporating new projects into existing city street grid patterns and contiguous areas may be one of the most important things a local government can do to end the proliferation of new “development projects,” instead creating new “neighborhoods,” including an increase in affordable units.
Along with these regulatory measures, some communities in other states have begun regulating certain aspects of building design as well. Here in Colorado, this is uncommon (outside of sub-areas such as historic districts) but some developers in the Metro region have begun voluntarily including some of these elements as a way of increasing home-value because people appreciate the pedestrian friendly design. Some of these include the revival of “alleys,” the placement of garages in back or on the side of the house, and the return of functioning porches to the front to create a more “community” feel. Increasingly, more attention is being paid to the outlay of the community to ensure a variety of either shops or parks within easy walking distance and the resultant feeling of community that comes from seeing your neighbors out of their cars enjoying the neighborhood.
For example, Denver’s “LoDo” region has been a leader in setting “community character” design standards. By mandating that new buildings conform to existing area standards, Denver’s planners maintained a great neighborhood whose mixed-use character and architectural integrity have functioned as the cornerstone of that area’s economic and residential revival.
Applications
Local:
At the local level, more livable communities can be created through the implementation
of design criteria. In this way communities can be made better for people,
businesses, and the environment. Additionally, they may be more aesthetically
pleasing.
By creating a community
based plan that outlines certain design criteria, local governments can increase
certainty of a desirable future and alleviate the need to address issues one
project at a time. This can be achieved by establishing guidelines as to mixed-use
requirements, open space preservation, setbacks, street engineering, building
design, and other items of importance to a community. As with most land use
regulations, variances could be sought by developers wishing to adjust or
otherwise not conform to the guidelines.
| "Buildings and streets affect the way people who use them feel and act. Key factors include the way the building "relates to the street" – where it sits on the lot, where the entry is, where parking is located, and how it fits with other buildings. Safety and social interaction can be increased by maintaining active "eyes on the street" – windows and doors that face onto the street or parks – instead of blank walls. Groups of buildings and streets – blocks – add up to making great places – or awful ones." (from Rue, H, "Real Towns: Making Your Neighborhood Work," Citizen Planning Inst., 2000) |
State:
On a state level, creating incentives or requirements for local design planning
can help ensure that Colorado does not lose its sense of community as it grows.
Funding should also be provided, since gathering community input and coming
to agreement on desirable planning standards takes time and money.
Funds granted to communities
for either roadway or revitalization projects will be money well spent. Collaborative
design guidelines that have proven community support and effective methods
of implementation help ensure that state-subsidized development projects are
contributing to the quality of the community, and not merely the capacity
of the highways.
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Before and after views of College Homes, Knoxville, Tennessee. In areas marred by vacant lots and empty streets, these proposals seek to restore the types of lively urban spaces that reinforce a sense of security and community. Courtesy of Urban Design Associates. |
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Internet Resources
www.cnu.org
The Congress for a New Urbanism, advocates for new livable communities
www.pps.org
Project for Public Spaces, Inc. emphasis on public building design and architecture
www.pps.org/11steps.html
Eleven Principles for Transforming Public Spaces into Great Community Places
www.marh.gov.bc.ca/GROWTH/NOV1996/alt.html
Alternative Development Standards-comparison of development standards from
past to present, examples from British Columbia
Table of Contents | Introduction | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11
