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The communities of 100 years ago were laid out so people could walk from where they lived to where they shopped, worked, and worshiped in the same compact neighborhood. The development pattern that became popular after World War II separated all these activities so commercial development became unconnected and uncoordinated along thoroughfares, and subdivisions are isolated from places to work and shop. In other words, everything is a drive away. Integrating uses allows people once again to live within walking distance of many activities of daily living and gives independence to those who do not drive. This allows small-scale commercial and residential activities to co-exist, either in the same building or adjacent buildings.

It’s possible to integrate uses on a small scale in an individual building. This is a new building in Asheville, built by Neighborhood Housing Services. It is a mixed-use project, with the first floor being developed as market-rate retail and office space; five apartments are on the second floor. Because funding was received through low-income housing tax credits, the apartments are restricted to people meeting the income eligibility requirements of 60 percent and below of area median income.

Here are some examples where uses are integrated on a larger scale. The Rosedale-Market Square center in Huntersville is two side-by-side commercial developments located on Sam Furr Road, Huntersville’s new exit off I-77. Under the old zoning code they would have been standard strip centers. Under the new code they consist of several rectangles of low brick buildings with public streets and on-street parking. More parking is located in the interior, …

… in what feels like a courtyard. This gives a feeling of enclosure in the “outdoor room.”

Behind the shopping area is a residential neighborhood, connected by a sidewalk lined with trees. There is a childcare area that is part of the neighborhood, as well as…

…apartments and single-family townhomes. Again, instead of buildings scattered in a haphazard fashion linked only by parking lots…

…the streets are public with on-street parking, and there are sidewalks lined with trees. Additional parking and garages are located behind the buildings. There are approximately 325 apartments and 150 townhomes, including several live-work units. It would be possible for a family to live in the neighborhood and walk to shopping or to work.

Just down the road, also in Huntersville, is the innovative Birkdale Village complex, built to take advantage of the town’s new code . In an article in the February 2002 issue of Planning magazine, the developer of the project states the project has been so successful the “Main Street” area had to be expanded to accommodate more retailer demand.

The project is 52 acres in area, with 325,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment uses, 75,000 square feet of office space, and 300 rental units. The retail area is still under construction…

…but every effort was made to welcome both pedestrians and motorists. The terminus of the major entrance road is a multi-plex movie theater…

…and there is a central landscaped area with angled parking. It’s possible to “park once” and make trips to several stores without driving to get there.

There’s a fountain directly across from the theater…

…and stores and offices on either side. The buildings are three and four stories high…

…with apartments on the upper floors.

Further down from the movie theater is another fountain…

…that functions as an outdoor gathering place, with entertainment on weekends.

The feeling is one of “Let’s park the car now so we can walk around” as opposed to “Get a parking space as close to the building as possible so we don’t have far to walk.”

Everywhere you look is something attractive to look at, and the space is inviting and comfortable. Parking does not dominate the landscape.

Behind the buildings is more parking in two-level decks. The bottom level is for people shopping…

…and the upper level is for people living above the stores. This arrangement is convenient for the residents, since they don’t have to climb the stairs to reach their apartments.

Adjacent to the shopping area is a residential neighborhood. The houses are built close to the street with porches, the garages are to the rear or accessed from alleys…

…and the sidewalks are lined with trees. There are several styles so the homes are not identical.

Public buildings and spaces includes all those environments where citizens are invited to travel, congregate and conduct public business such as streets, sidewalks, parking lots, parks, civic buildings and cultural facilities. These buildings and public gathering places require attention and consideration to reinforce community identity. The buildings should instill and evoke feelings of civic pride in residents and visitors. A successful neighborhood should provide ample public places that are attractive and conducive to personal interaction.

People in Western North Carolina are fortunate to have a legacy of imposing and attractive civic buildings around the region, including City Hall in Hendersonville…

…and the county courthouse in Rutherfordton that were built in the early 20th century. Some of the elements that make them “feel” stately are the columns, use of stone and other materials that will stand the test of time, and overall formal style; this is the classical revival design based on Greek and Roman architecture. There is no parking in the front lawn, which has been left as a public gathering space and a place for memorials; this emphasizes its importance in community life. You don’t need a sign to know that this is a significant civic building.

The new county courthouse in Hendersonville continues this tradition of classic civic architecture…

…as does the new city hall in Huntersville. It’s easy to imagine all of these civic structures being on postcards as important local landmarks.

In contrast, this new town hall in Virginia with its cookie-cutter architectural style could be anything—no wonder it needs a sign. Otherwise you could go right by it and think it was a bank, real estate office or maybe a furniture store. Definitely not postcard material!

Here is the new fire station in Hendersonville; it states clearly that this is an important building in the community…

… and was built to last for several generations.

A few miles west of Hendersonville are the communities of Etowah and Horse Shoe. The volunteer fire department station that was built in the 1960s was made of brick…

…but was not interesting to look at.

When the department decided to expand their building, the architect designed an innovative building around and over the existing structure so parts of the original structure are still visible. The new section incorporates traditional elements of arched windows that evoke memories of fire stations from 100 years ago, as well as interesting patterns in the brickwork so the building invites appreciation and exhibits the pride of a community in this important landmark.

This church, on land that is part of A New Neighborhood in Old Davidson, the neighborhood that we saw at the beginning of this presentation, has been built as the focal point for the main entrance.

The small town of Saluda NC (population 575) is rightfully proud of their new library on Main Street that opened in December of 2000. The town didn’t have a library and residents had to drive half an hour to get to one in neighboring communities. The building, originally used as a retail store, was donated to the town by a previous mayor in the mid-1990s; the renovation took 18 months. The entire community came together to raise funds from public and private sources both locally and out-of-state. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated a total of 16 computers for a computer lab and general patron use.

The back portion of the upper floor is used by the library and the town government now has their meetings in the front room. It’s a lovely space.

One look at this building and it’s obvious that it used to serve an important civic purpose. It’s the former post office in Wytheville, Virginia and one of several standard building designs the postal service used during the early 20th century.

Another standard post office design is this one in Waynesville, NC which was converted into their town hall in the 1970s. It too has an “official building” presence.

In recent years the postal service has opted to economize by locating branches in storefronts.

The result can be a sad-looking existence in old strip shopping centers, and the loss of its function as a place of civic pride. It might be a postcard of what not to do.

In contrast, here is the new post office in Huntersville NC. Even though parking is located in front, the building itself has varied materials, windows that promote interaction between people inside and outside the building, and landscaping. This new building is a place to be proud of.

This courthouse is an imposing building with a large lawn in front suitable for memorials and public gatherings.

When the building needed to be expanded for more office space, the decision to use completely different materials and style leads to a building that has a split personality, so the interest and character inherent in the original is not present …

…in the new section.

From this view, the building looks forbidding rather than welcoming—not the impression you want to give to people coming to their local government offices on business.

In Salisbury, NC the Rowan County Courthouse has an imposing presence with its classical revival architectural elements. When the building was expanded…

…it was done in such a way that the original and new sections blend together. The window treatment in both buildings is similar, the scale and setbacks are compatible, …

…and the overall feeling is one of an imposing, not forbidding, building.