‹header›
‹date/time›
Click to edit Master text styles
Second level
Third level
Fourth level
Fifth level
‹footer›
‹#›
What
makes a good neighborhood? Do we know
one when we see one? If we look closely we will find there
are many components of a neighborhood.
It’s the
attractive houses and how they are maintained.
It’s streets with sidewalks shaded by trees that make it comfortable and inviting.
A
good neighborhood can be likened to a jigsaw puzzle—the picture is formed by many pieces, all of which
are important. When the right mix of
pieces is working
together the neighborhood becomes a living place with the whole being greater than the sum of
its parts. It does not matter if people
living in the
neighborhood are well-off or of limited means—when people care about where they live, their
neighbors and their community, then the feeling becomes a part of the surroundings. A “social and physical chemistry” develops, telling everyone this
neighborhood is a great place to live.
It says this
place is home.
At
the turn of the 20th century, towns and neighborhoods were
designed for the pedestrian. In most towns built 100 years ago there is a
central commercial area
and right next to it are neighborhoods with houses set close to the street and near each other with large
shade trees along narrow streets with sidewalks. People could walk to where they worked, shopped, and
worshipped.
After
World War II, development trends changed and so did neighborhoods. Developers moved away from established town centers and
instead built houses
off by themselves, often on land that once was farmed. Neighborhoods became “subdivisions” or “developments” oriented to cars
and attracted people
of similar ages and incomes. The
character of these places is different from earlier neighborhoods:
sidewalks with trees to shade them may be missing, socializing happens in
the back yard and not on the porch, streets are wider so people drive faster, and everything is a drive
away. These “developments” look and feel a
lot different than traditional neighborhoods.
Fifty
years later there is interest in recreating the characteristics and features
of earlier,
traditional, neighborhoods that people cherish. In this presentation we’re going to examine several
of the key puzzle pieces that involve the physical components of a neighborhood, with examples from recent developments. We’ll be looking at:
What
does it mean when we talk about good design?
A quick review of a few terms
may be helpful. There are several
principles that deal with individual buildings and how they relate to people as well as to other
buildings.
We’ll
start with SCALE.
Scale can be defined as
the size and shape of a building or open space, or the relationship of width and
height of one building as it relates to other buildings, spaces and to people. Notice in
the top row of houses in the sketch that one is proposed that is of a different height than the houses
around it.
Another
design element is ORIENTATION.
It
can be defined as how a building faces the street.
We are used to seeing
buildings that are parallel to the street as opposed to being on a diagonal.
The SETBACK is the distance between
the building and the street. When
several buildings line up in a row, they form an EDGE.
There
are several common ROOF SHAPES.
The roof is a
major visual element and should be carefully considered as to the proportion,
texture, color and compatibility with the proposed building style and those of
neighboring buildings. Similarities in
roof shapes create visual continuity in the streetscape.
Another element is the relationship of solids to voids or
openings in a wall. Think of windows as
being the “eyes” of a building. When
there are no or few openings in a building wall…
… it seems forbidding, not inviting. What is the proportion of blank wall to doors and
windows—in other words, does the building have eyes?
What
kind of building material can be seen from the street: brick, stone, granite, marble, tile, stucco, wood shingles…
…metal,
concrete, plywood, vinyl siding, or other material?
Articulation refers to elements that project out or are recessed
to create more interesting and less monotonous appearances such as awnings,
balconies, bay windows and recessed doors.
When buildings and trees line the
street they form an edge and give a feeling of enclosure, like being in
an outdoor room. This area—the outdoor
room—including the facades of buildings, sidewalks, landscaping
and streets is called the STREETSCAPE.
Well-designed streetscapes feel
comfortable and inviting to pedestrians and motorists, and are places where
we want to spend time and enjoy being in.
We’ll
start our discussion of what good design in a neighborhood means with three residential developments
that use design principles to incorporate several puzzle pieces that make good
neighborhoods, including housing choices, transportation options, public buildings and spaces, and
integrating uses. We’ll also
examine a large shopping center that uses good design so it is visually appealing and
pedestrian-friendly as well as more compatible with neighboring properties.
This
new neighborhood in Davidson NC is being built according to the town’s new zoning code. In the 1990s
Davidson along with three neighboring small towns saw the population explosion and resulting sprawl in
Charlotte heading their
way. Planners in Belmont, Huntersville,
Cornelius and Davidson decided to
completely revamp their zoning ordinances to accommodate growth so it was absorbed into the existing
fabric of their communities as much as possible.
Instead of relying on separating
homes, shopping, offices and schools from each other, which requires
building new roads and widening existing ones, the new codes focus on
creating compact, mixed-use, walkable communities according to
carefully established design principles. This approach has been called “new
urbanism,” and it recreates many elements of
traditional neighborhoods.
Because
it’s located only a short distance from the center of town, the new neighborhood fits comfortably
into the existing fabric of the community.
There is a
feeling of enclosure from the narrow, tree-lined street with sidewalks that connects the new
neighborhood to the main road. The project is 81 acres in size with 129
single-family homes, 108 townhouse units and
14 live/work units.
This
neighborhood has an inviting streetscape because the single-family detached homes are set close to
the street, they have different yet compatible architectural features, and the garages are recessed. The narrower street design with sidewalks on both sides
slows traffic and encourages walking.
In addition,
pedestrians are buffered from passing traffic by a wide tree lawn, and the trees will provide shade
and a canopy overhead when they mature.
The houses
have porches. The porch has been called
a “room without walls.” They encourage socializing
among neighbors and provide an in-between space to be outside.
The
large common open lawn is enclosed by these attached townhomes, which provide housing choices within
the neighborhood. The new zoning code
in Davidson
requires new residential developments to have interconnecting streets and homes set close to
the street; garages are required to be subordinate to the dwelling. There is a total of 19 acres of
common space, including seven acres
given to the Town for a public park.
In
back of the townhomes are alleys that provide access to garages; some of the garages are two-stories and
have space for living units or offices above.
This gives
an opportunity for people to rent a smaller space and makes the homes more affordable both to
the renter and the homeowner.
The
town of Huntersville, NC also passed a new zoning code in the 1990s that embraced the design-oriented
principles of new urbanism. The
developers of Vermillion,
a mixed-use project of approximately 350 acres and an expected build-out of approximately 1600
dwelling units, are designing the community around 13 principles of town planning.
Vermillion
is about a five-minute walk from the center of Huntersville and has its own small commercial center
with a restaurant, offices and opportunities for retail…
…that
front on a public square. The buildings
around the square provide a feeling
of enclosure. On two sides of the
square are buildings with living units above the first floor, which is designed for office or
retail use.
There
are a number of housing choices within Vermillion, including these attached single-family units
that give a feeling of enclosure to the public square. Notice
the wide tree lawns.
Single-family
detached homes are located just beyond the square. Notice the houses are set close to the street, garages are not
visible, and narrow streets are framed
with street trees on both sides.
On-street parking is permissible.
The streets
form an interconnected network within the development, as well as connecting to streets in
adjacent neighborhoods. There is a
network of alleys for
parking and trash pick-up, and other small public greens throughout the neighborhood.
The
project also makes the most of existing natural resources by integrating a one-and-a-half-mile greenway
into the neighborhood plan. A small creek is contained in the greenway; the developers will leave it
untouched for residents to
enjoy. These homes have a view of the
greenway, but not exclusive use of it so it is a common public space.
This
home has an accessory dwelling in the rear; the alley is visible at the
left. The town zoning code requires lots of 60 feet or less to
have a detached rear garage
serviced by an alley.
The
community of I’On in Mt. Pleasant, SC, is a short distance from Charleston. It’s named after Jacob Bond I’On, a
prominent South Carolina statesman
in the early 1800s. Construction on the
243-acre tract began in 1998;
when complete, 762 single-family homes are planned. More than two miles of lakes and marsh frontage is accessible to the
public by way of dedicated
common areas and linear parks built around these natural amenities. A walkway meanders through the marsh and provides value to
all property owners,
not just to those who own frontage property.
Houses
in a variety of visually-compatible architectural styles have been built close to the street, and the narrow tree-lined streets encourage
slower driving speeds
as well as give a feeling of enclosure.
There is a definite feeling of being in an “outdoor room” here. On-street parking is permitted. A small neighborhood commercial center with restaurants, retails
shops and professional
offices is part of the development.
Homes
reflect the architectural style in the South Carolina Lowcountry.
People
get their mail at this central point, an innovative public building and a place to bump into a neighbor.
Alleys
provide access to garages located at the rear of the houses, and are safe enough to be used by children
as a place to play.
In the overall design of the
development, attention was given to preserving sensitive wetlands and an
important five-acre bird rookery; these have been set aside for
conservation areas and are maintained by the homeowners’ association.
One
design feature often found in new construction that strive to be “neighborhoods” instead of “developments” or “subdivisions” are
alleys. This provides residents with parking in the rear of their
houses…
…and
garages are not seen from the street.
Both
of these new neighborhoods are in Huntersville NC; here is the alley…
…and
here is the front.
This
group of homes is located in another community…
…but
wait--this IS the front of the house!
Designer Randall Arendt terms this a “snout house” where the most unattractive feature—the
garage—is also the most
prominent feature. A person standing in
front of this house might wonder
where the front door is, and anyone taking a walk would notice the lack of variety in the view.
What
happens if a big box development were to announce plans to move next to your neighborhood? Can good
design make a large shopping center more compatible? This
project, called Town Centre, is located in Mount Pleasant SC and shows it is possible to
design these larger developments so they are visually appealing and pedestrian-friendly.
The
entire project is approximately 50 acres in area and has about 500,000 square feet of retail. There are eight entrances to the project;
this is one of the interior
access roads. You can see that
landscaping and sidewalks are important
components of the development. Parking
is located to the side and rear
of this restaurant.
The
Lowe’s store, one of the main anchor tenants, has a heavily-landscaped parking lot with a wide
boulevard in front that’s shared comfortably by pedestrians and motorists.
The pavement is concrete and asphalt pavement pressed into a brick pattern
and painted red, so motorists are aware that they need to drive slowly, watching
for pedestrians.
There
are parking bays with enough space between the rows of cars to enable landscaping to flourish, and
existing vegetation was retained wherever possible.
Where
several mature trees existed, an especially large natural area was left to give them room to grow.
At
the rear of the parking lot, overflow parking on grass is present, and there
is a hedge to
screen the lot from the access road.
This
is one of the major entrances to the project.
A huge oak tree is the focal point, and the road was designed to take advantage of its
presence. Traffic becomes one-way around the tree
island.
There
is a multi-plex movie theater at the end of the entrance road…
…with
a roundabout in front to handle traffic circulation. This road is constructed of textured pavers so motorists naturally drive
more slowly.
The
sidewalk in front of the stores is very wide to make it inviting for pedestrians…
…and
there are places to eat and socialize outside.
The buildings have lots of windows, making it more pedestrian-friendly.
Pedestrians
have attractive and clearly-marked places to walk through parking lots…
…and
between different parts of the shopping center.
Unattractive
parts of the building, such as utility boxes, are screened…
…and
the stormwater drainage area is not an ugly pond choked with weeds and surrounded by a chain link
fence but instead looks like an attractive stream.
In
summary, a well-designed neighborhood creates many places worth “caring about.” This happens because: