creating code for the livable community€¦ · ideal neighborhood •160 acres •¼ mile...
TRANSCRIPT
Creating Code for the Livable Community
Healthy Community Through Active Transportation Conference March 30, 2010
Kim C. Littleton, AICP
Intro
"Our bodies just weren't designed to be this inactive.“- Russell Pate, University of South Carolina
Gay and High Streets, circa 1900
Gay and High Streets, 2010
Indoor Living
• By age 25, the average American has spent one year in a car
• 1970-2000 average household size shrank from 3.14 to 2.62 persons, while size of new homes increased 54%
Rise of the Machines
Rise of the Machines
60-70% reduction in calories burned overthe past century
Neanderthal vs. Homo Sapiens
Born to Move
• Upright, hands free to carry water +
• Perspiration allows maintaining steady core body temp +
• Excellent tracking ability =
• Chase prey to death
?
N.E.A.T. (non-exercise activity thermogenesis)
• Put schools within easy walking distance of residential areas.
• Improve access to outdoor recreational facilities.
• Require physical education in schools.
• Enhance traffic safety in areas where people could be physically active.
• Enhance infrastructure supporting walking and biking.
• Discourage consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks.
CDC Recommendations
• Put schools within easy walking distance of residential areas.
• Improve access to outdoor recreational facilities.
• Require physical education in schools.
• Enhance traffic safety in areas where people could be physically active.
• Enhance infrastructure supporting walking and biking.
• Discourage consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks.
CDC Recommendations
Plan
"Look deep, deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.“
- Albert Einstein
Natural Transect
Alexander Von Humboldt , 1793
Patrick Geddes, 1800’s
Rural to Urban Transect
Duany Plater-Zyberk
High Street/Chipotle Transect
T6T4 T5T3
Chipotle TransectWalk Score™ (100 possible)
T6T4 T5T3
65 74 86 94
Ideal Neighborhood
• 160 acres• ¼ mile pedestrian
shed• Civic center• Clear edges with
commercial uses • Narrow street
network• Walk-to parks• Elementary school
populationClarence Perry, 1929
Livable Neighborhood
Douglas Farr, 2007
• 160 acres – min. 40, max. 200
• High performance infrastructure
• Transit mode• Support car-free
housing• Habitat and
infrastructure greenways
Conventional Land Use
Neighborhoods, Districts, & Corridors
Corridor
Neighborhood Interventions
• Greenery: Urban residents 3x more active in high greenery vs. low greenery neighborhoods
• Walkability: People in highly walkable neighborhoods 50 % more likely to achieve moderate intensity activity (NEAT)
• Connectivity: Highly connected areas 3-4x more likely to walk to transit or bike
• Lighting: 51 % increase in walking with improved lighting
Neighborhood Interventions (cont.)
• Bikeability: 23 % increase in biking after street redesign ( from 4 to 2 lanes)
• Aesthetics: 56 % increase in walking if pleasant experience
• Convenience: 70 % increase in walking if conveniences are within ¼ mile
Code
There are two things Americans dislike: density and sprawl.- A New Urbanist Saying
Conventional Zoning
Conventional Zoning with Design Guidelines
Form-Based Zoning
Rockville Pike, Rockville Maryland –Transit Adjacent
Existing Conditions
Existing Conditions
Existing Conditions
Documentation
Vision
Illustrative Plan
Regulating Plan
The Corridor - Rockville Pike
The Block
The Lot
Frontage Standards
Allow or require mixed-use zones• Remove Obstacles: Create zoning districts that
allow mixed-use development by right • Create Incentives: Wider variety of permitted
uses, increased densities, and accelerated application process
• Adopt Standards: Reduce parking ratios
General Code Fixes
General Code Fixes
Use urban dimensions in urban places • Remove Obstacles: Replace FAR with height and
maximum setback standards, revise subdivision regulations for more compact development, eliminate buffer requirements for similar uses
• Create Incentives: Provide multiple housing types in existing districts through dimensional standards (e.g., enable small lots and limited buffer yards between homes) and allow residential over retail in commercial districts
• Adopt Standards: Allow smaller lots, reduce parking ratios.
General Code Fixes
Rein in and reform the use of planned unit developments (PUDs).• Remove Obstacles: Reduce the use of PUD’s on
small sites (less than 2 ac.).• Create (Dis) Incentives: Remove or substantially
reduce the need to use PUDs by fixing dimensional standards, particularly on small parcels.
• Adopt Standards: Create standards for PUD (e.g. TND).
General Code Fixes
Fix parking requirements• Remove Obstacles: Unbundle parking from
residential development in districts with higher densities and a mix of uses which allows residents to choose not to purchase parking.
• Create Incentives: Allow some credit for on-street parking supply in retail districts.
• Adopt Standards: Revise the tables of parking supply minimums, reducing them wherever possible to reflect context, transportation options, and land use mix.
General Code Fixes
Increase density and intensity in town and city centers
• Remove Obstacles: Establish minimum densities or intensities in community or regional mixed-use centers and transit-oriented developments.
• Create Incentives: Consider offering density bonuses and flexible zoning standards to encourage construction of affordable housing.
• Adopt Standards: Adopt transition/compatibility standards (e.g., building setbacks, open space, landscaping) to ensure that higher density projects in activity centers are compatible with surrounding neighborhoods.
General Code Fixes
Modernize street standards – ITE/CNU
• Remove Obstacles: Embed street design principles in the comprehensive plan or community master plan.
• Create Incentives: Revise the street classification system to create a “multimodal corridor” designation.
• Adopt Standards: Revise the local street design standards to add a “road diet” cross section for appropriate streets .
General Code Fixes
Enact standards that foster walkable places• Remove Obstacles: Prepare and adopt a pedestrian
circulation element in the comprehensive plan or in a separate transportation master plan.
• Create Incentives: Flexible park land and open space dedication requirements that recognize amenities suitable to urban environments.
• Adopt Standards: Adopt pedestrian environment standards for mixed-use districts to improve pedestrian safety, comfort, and convenience, including requirements for on-street parking, build-to lines, minimum façade transparency, building entrance spacing, canopies, and similar pedestrian-friendly elements.
Transit Oriented Development
Transit Demand
Since 1995, public transit ridership has increased 25 percent• Demographic using transit growing – elderly,
singles, single parents, and low-income • Automobile use accounts for 20 percent of
annual household expenditures• Increasing traffic congestion• Nearby residents (less than ½ mile) use transit
five times as often as those who drive to the station
DC Metro Red Line
Rockville Metro
Twinbrook Metro
Rockville Town Center
Twinbrook Commons
Transit ReadyThree-D’s • Density: Seven dwelling
units per acre (du/a) bus; 15 du/a trolley; and 22 du/a light rail
• Design: Fine Grained (small block sizes)
• Diversity: Mixed – Use
““Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.”
– Albert Einstein
Thank you!
LEED-ND
Neighborhood Pattern and Design (44 possible points)
• Prerequisite 1 Walkable Streets-Required
• Prerequisite 2 Compact Development -Required
• Prerequisite 3 Connected and Open Community -Required
• Credit 1 Walkable Streets - 12
• Credit 2 Compact Development - 6
• Credit 3 Mixed-Use Neighborhood Centers - 4
• Credit 4 Mixed-Income Diverse Communities - 7
• Credit 5 Reduced Parking Footprint - 1
LEED-ND
• Credit 6 Street Network -2
• Credit 7 Transit Facilities - 1
• Credit 8 Transportation Demand Management - 2
• Credit 9 Access to Civic and Public Spaces - 1
• Credit 10 Access to Recreation Facilities - 1
• Credit 11 Visitability and Universal Design - 1
• Credit 12 Community Outreach and Involvement - 2
• Credit 13 Local Food Production - 1
• Credit 14 Tree-Lined and Shaded Streets - 2
• Credit 15 Neighborhood Schools - 1