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Chapter 26. Changing the Physical and Social Environment >
Section 13. Neighborhood Design and Zoning for Community Buildings >
Neighborhood Design and Zoning for Community Buildings |
Tools & Checklists | Contributed by Phil Rabinowitz |
Checklist
Here you will find a checklist summarizing the important points of the section.
What are zoning and neighborhood design, and how do they work together?
__ Zoning is a set of community laws and regulations that divides a community into various zones, and specifies what kinds of building, development, and economic activity can take place in each zone.
__ Neighborhood design refers not only to the design of buildings, but to the design of the neighborhood as a whole.
__ The type of zoning a community adopts can greatly shape the design of neighborhoods subject to that zoning.
Why use zoning and neighborhood design to influence the physical structure of your community?
__ They can guide public spending toward the appropriate places by putting money into projects and improvements most needed and wanted by neighborhood residents.
__ They can foster economic and racial/ethnic diversity.
__ They can foster social interaction and mixing among neighbors, and among neighborhood residents from diverse backgrounds.
__ They can make the chores of daily life easier and more convenient.
__ They can provide health benefits from walking and biking.
__ They can create ease of travel and independence for everyone.
__ They can provide easy access to jobs.
__ They can afford residents savings on transportation.
__ They can produce environmental benefits.
__ They can foster development that’s energy efficient and environmentally responsible.
__ They can lead to more profit for developers, and more reasons for them to invest in affordable housing.
__ They can create a better commercial environment.
__ They can make for a physically and aesthetically more pleasant neighborhood.
__ They can foster safer and more secure neighborhoods.
__ They can enhance neighborhood quality of life.
When should you use zoning and neighborhood design?
__ When a zoning code is being revisited or developed.
__ When a community strategic planning or neighborhood planning process is in place.
__ When a major development that could change the character of the neighborhood is proposed.
__ When a community or neighborhood development effort is under way.
__ When a community or neighborhood appears to be in a downward spiral.
__ When a neighborhood is in the midst of, or threatened by, changes in population.
Who should use zoning and neighborhood design?
__ Residents.
__ Neighborhood business owners and professionals (i.e. those who make their living in the neighborhood, although they may not live there).
__ Industries with facilities in the neighborhood.
__ Those with financial interests in the neighborhood (landowners, developers with current plans).
__ Neighborhood health and community service providers.
__ Civil servants – police, firefighters, etc.
__ Local government representatives and agencies that serve the neighborhood – city councilors, state representatives, municipal recreation agencies, public transportation, etc.
__ Cultural organizations with a venue or base in the neighborhood – museums, libraries, performing arts centers.
__ Educational institutions, both public and private.
__ Neighborhood houses of worship.
How do you implement zoning and neighborhood design?
__ Reach out and recruit stakeholders.
__ Solicit stakeholders’ ideas about the ideal future for the neighborhood.
__ Hold a series of public meetings where stakeholders can discuss their initial ideas and develop a shared vision for the neighborhood.
__ Flesh out the vision statement with outcome goals.
__ Generate concrete objectives tied to specific actions to achieve outcome goals.
__ Prioritize the lists of goals, objectives, and recommendations.
__ Identify the necessary zoning changes.
__ Implement the necessary zoning changes.
__ Choose a neighborhood design committee or other body to coordinate the effort.
__ Keep in close contact with everyone involved in changing the physical structure of the neighborhood.
__ If necessary, work with the municipality and developers to attract businesses and residents to the neighborhood.
__ Encourage neighborhood events, use of new bike and walking paths, public transportation, etc.
__ Deliver regular progress reports to the neighborhood on work toward specific objectives and goals.
__ Revisit the neighborhood plan regularly and revise it as needed.
__ Maintain momentum indefinitely.
Tools
Tool #1: Principles and benefits of New Urbanist neighborhood design
From the website of newurbanism.org, http://www.newurbanism.org/newurbanism.html.
Principles
1. Walkability
- Most things within a 10-minute walk of home and work
- Pedestrian friendly street design (buildings close to street; porches, windows & doors; tree-lined streets; on street parking; hidden parking lots; garages in rear lane; narrow, slow speed streets)
- Pedestrian streets free of cars in special cases
2. Connectivity
- Interconnected street grid network disperses traffic & eases walking
- A hierarchy of narrow streets, boulevards, and alleys
- High quality pedestrian network and public realm makes walking pleasurable
3. Mixed-Use & Diversity
- A mix of shops, offices, apartments, and homes on site. Mixed-use within neighborhoods, within blocks, and within buildings
- Diversity of people - of ages, income levels, cultures, and races
4. Mixed Housing
- A range of types, sizes and prices in closer proximity
5. Quality Architecture & Urban Design
- Emphasis on beauty, aesthetics, human comfort, and creating a sense of place; Special placement of civic uses and sites within community. Human scale architecture & beautiful surroundings nourish the human spirit
6. Traditional Neighborhood Structure
- Discernable center and edge
- Public space at center
- Importance of quality public realm; public open space designed as civic art
- Contains a range of uses and densities within 10-minute walk
- Transect planning: Highest densities at town center; progressively less dense towards the edge. The transect is an analytical system that conceptualizes mutually reinforcing elements, creating a series of specific natural habitats and/or urban lifestyle settings. The Transect integrates environmental methodology for habitat assessment with zoning methodology for community design. The professional boundary between the natural and man-made disappears, enabling environmentalists to asses the design of the human habitat and the urbanists to support the viability of nature. This urban-to-rural transect hierarchy has appropriate building and street types for each area along the continuum.
7. Increased Density
- More buildings, residences, shops, and services closer together for ease of walking, to enable a more efficient use of services and resources, and to create a more convenient, enjoyable place to live.
- New Urbanism design principles are applied at the full range of densities from small towns, to large cities.
8. Smart Transportation
- A network of high-quality trains connecting cities, towns, and neighborhoods together
- Pedestrian-friendly design that encourages a greater use of bicycles, rollerblades, scooters, and walking as daily transportation
9. Sustainability
- Minimal environmental impact of development and its operations
- Eco-friendly technologies, respect for ecology and value of natural systems
- Energy efficiency
- Less use of finite fuels
- More local production
- More walking, less driving
10. Quality of Life
- Taken together these add up to a high quality of life well worth living, and create places that enrich, uplift, and inspire the human spirit.
Benefits
1. Benefits to residents.
Higher quality of life; Better places to live, work, & play; Higher, more stable property values; Less traffic congestion & less driving; Healthier lifestyle with more walking, and less stress; Close proximity to main street retail & services; Close proximity to bike trails, parks, and nature; Pedestrian friendly communities offer more opportunities to get to know others in the neighborhood and town, resulting in meaningful relationships with more people, and a friendlier town; More freedom and independence to children, elderly, and the poor in being able to get to jobs, recreation, and services without the need for a car or someone to drive them; Great savings to residents and school boards in reduced busing costs from children being able to walk or bicycle to neighborhood schools; More diversity and smaller, unique shops and services with local owners who are involved in community; Big savings by driving less, and owning less cars; Less ugly, congested sprawl to deal with daily; Better sense of place and community identity with more unique architecture; More open space to enjoy that will remain open space; More efficient use of tax money with less spent on spread out utilities and roads
2. Benefits to businesses
Increased sales due to more foot traffic & people spending less on cars and gas; More profits due to spending less on advertising and large signs; Better lifestyle by living above shop in live-work units - saves the stressful & costly commute; Economies of scale in marketing due to close proximity and cooperation with other local businesses; Smaller spaces promote small local business incubation; Lower rents due to smaller spaces & smaller parking lots; Healthier lifestyle due to more walking and being near healthier restaurants; More community involvement from being part of community and knowing residents
3. Benefits to developers
More income potential from higher density mixed-use projects due to more leasable square footage, more sales per square foot, and higher property values and selling prices; Faster approvals in communities that have adopted smart growth principles resulting in cost / time savings; Cost savings in parking facilities in mixed-use properties due to sharing of spaces throughout the day and night, resulting in less duplication in providing parking; Less need for parking facilities due to mix of residences and commercial uses within walking distance of each other; Less impact on roads / traffic, which can result in lower impact fees; Lower cost of utilities due to compact nature of New Urbanist design; Greater acceptance by the public and less resistance from NIMBYS; Faster sell out due to greater acceptance by consumers from a wider product range resulting in wider market share
4. Benefits to municipalities
Stable, appreciating tax base; Less spent per capita on infrastructure and utilities than typical suburban development due to compact, high-density nature of projects; Increased tax base due to more buildings packed into a tighter area; Less traffic congestion due to walkability of design; Less crime and less spent on policing due to the presence of more people day and night; Less resistance from community; Better overall community image and sense of place; Less incentive to sprawl when urban core area is desirable; Easy to install transit where it's not, and improve it where it is; Greater civic involvement of population leads to better governance.
Tool #2: Good Practice Guide to Public Engagement in Development Schemes
This freely available practice guide helps developers, communities and decision-makers ensure that public engagement is undertaken in a meaningful way. This guide is intended to provide practical advice for all those involved in public engagement in development schemes which require planning consent. It is illustrated by real examples of good practice and provides information and assistance to those planning, engaging in, or assessing community consultation.
Public Engagement Good Practice Guide