The New UrbanismDesign Principles for Vibrant Communities
Wisconsin Transportation ConferenceSeptember 29, 2014
Ben Zellers, AICP, CNU-A
The New Urbanism
• Look towards successful past design to inform new development patterns.
Cars Live Here
People Live Here
The New Urbanism
• Look towards successful past design to inform new development patterns.
The New Urbanism
• Look towards successful past design to inform new development patterns.
The Transect
From http://www.transect.org
The Transect
From http://www.transect.org
The Charter of The New Urbanism• http://www.cnu.org/charter • 27 planning, design, and
development principles broken down in to 3 categories:– The region: Metropolis, city, and town– The neighborhood, the district, and the
corridor– The block, the street, and the building
The Region
• Development patterns should not blur or eradicate the edges of the metropolis.
The Region
• Direct investment to smart growth priority areas.
The Region• Most codes outlaw construction of
compact, diverse, walkable cities and villages.
• Make good design legal.– Too many downtowns are illegal.– Requiring over provision of parking.– Zoning doesn’t match pre-existing lot/site
conditions.– Minimum lot size too big.– Jumping through hoops for mixed-use
development.
The Region
• Reject road planning and projections that ignore induced traffic.
• Induced traffic = new road capacity absorbed by drivers who previously avoided congested roads.
• “Trying to cure traffic congestion by adding more capacity is like trying to cure obesity by loosening a belt.”
The Region• Beltline in Madison/Monona
“Old” Beltline: 4 lanes; 45 mph speed limit; many curb cuts; stoplights
“New” Beltline – opened in 1988: 6 lanes; 55 mph speed limit; freeway; free-flow interchange with I-39/90
197019
7219
7419
7619
7819
8019
8219
8419
8619
8819
9019
9219
9419
9619
9820
0020
0220
0420
0620
0820
1035,000
45,000
55,000
65,000
75,000
85,000
95,000
105,000
115,000
125,000
The Region1988: 6-lane bypass opens
Data from WisDOT; CARPC
54,685
69,850
111,000
78,890
1984: EIS
44,700 54,500
27%
41%
Neighborhood, District, Corridor• Plan in increments of complete
neighborhoods.• Neighborhoods should be compact,
pedestrian-friendly, and mixed-use.• Many activities of daily living should
occur within walking distance to allow independence for those who do not drive, especially the elderly and young.
• Retain & protect major natural features; have a variety of public places.
The five-minute walk
Park
The five-minute walk
School
Wetlands& Park
ParkPreserve
School
Senior Housing
Grocery, Bank, Etc.
View Preserved for Public
Neighborhood, District, Corridor
• An interconnected network of streets with small block sizes should be designed to encourage walking, reduce the number and length of automobile trips, and conserve energy.
450’(~2/25 mi)
4,140’(~3/4 mi)
7 miles!
Neighborhood, District, Corridor
From http://www.charlotteobserver.com
Annualized per-capita life cycle costs
From http://www.charlotteobserver.com
Neighborhood, District, Corridor• Fire safety vs. life safety.
– Fire departments love wide streets – they feel it allows them to handle fires better.
– Wide streets cause speeding, no matter the posted speed limit.
– Speeding causes more severe driver and pedestrian injuries and increases fatalities from crashes.
• Best to have narrower streets that connect.
Neighborhood, District, Corridor
• Have a broad range of housing types and price levels in a neighborhood.
Neighborhood, District, Corridor
• Concentrations of civic, institutional, and commercial activity should be embedded in neighborhoods and districts, not isolated in remote, single-use complexes. Schools should be sized and located to enable children to walk or bicycle to them.
Neighborhood, District, Corridor• The downtown
Post Office
City Hall
Library
Senior Center
Fire Dept.
EMS
Church
Church
BreweryHousing
Housing
Hotel Office RetailBank
Farmer’s Market
(summer)
Village
Village
High School
1.4 miles
1.7 miles
No sidewalks
or trails . . .
Pupil Transportation Budget: $633,000
1969: 41 percent of children either walked or biked to school2001: 13 percent
Neighborhood, District, Corridor
• Economic health and harmonious evolution of neighborhoods, districts, and corridors can be improved through graphic urban design codes that serve as predictable guides for change.
• Consider form-based zoning, especially for mixed-use areas like downtowns.
• Better to show people what you do want than tell them what you don’t want.
Neighborhood, District, Corridor
• Sidewalks are not the only ingredient for making a place walkable. Pedestrian routes must be: – Useful – aspects of daily life located close at
hand.– Interesting – sidewalk lined with unique
buildings– Comfortable – buildings create “outdoor living
rooms”– Safe – peds have a fighting chance against
autos.From: The Walkable City, by Jeff Speck
Block, Street, Building• Development must adequately
accommodate automobiles; it should do so in ways that respect the pedestrian and the form of public space.
• Streets should be safe for all modes of transport.– Autos travel at the speed the street is
designed for, not at the posted speed limit.– Pedestrian fatalities at speeds of 36-45
mph are 22 TIMES HIGHER than when cars are at ≤20mph.
3280 Feet 315 Feet
Block, Street, and Building
• Georgia pedestrian charged with vehicular homicide in the death of her 4-year old son because they were j-walking when hit by a drunk driver who left the scene.
• Crossed street at bus stop instead of walking 2/3 mi to cross at a crosswalk.
• Could have done more prison time than the driver.
Kudos on the sidewalks and
crosswalks, but . . .
High School
NO!
On street parking: essential for businesses.
Well-managed street parking can generate tens of thousands of retail sales per stall; ideal to
manage parking to maintain 15% stall vacancy.
Block, Street, Building
• Do everything you can to preserve your historic buildings – that’s what makes your community unique.
Downtown block area: 1.7 acres Assessed value: $3.87 millionValue per acre: $2.3 million
Big box parcel area: 5.8 acres Assessed value: $2.1 millionValue per acre: $362,000
More than 6 times as valuable per acre!
Newer!
Even when compared to a brand new big box
store with freeway access in a bigger city, the downtown block at right is more than 2x as valuable per acre.
Block, Street, Building• A primary task of all urban
architecture and landscape design is the physical definition of streets and public spaces as places of shared use.
• The revitalization of urban places depends on safety and security. The design of streets and buildings should reinforce safe environments, but not at the expense of accessibility and openness.
(before)
Raingarden terrace
Pervious pavers
LED Streetlights
Terrace trees
Benches & trash
receptacles
Bike racks
Building sun shades; many
windows facing street
(after)
• Surface parking
• Very little greenspace
• Green roof• Solar panels• Increased
greenspace
Block, Street, Building• Don’t be afraid to require good
design.
Block, Street, Building• Allow alleys. Alleys:
– Prevent garages from dominating the streetscape.
– Reduce pedestrian/bike conflicts with cars by reducing driveways & curb cuts.
– Provide a place for transformers, meters, communications boxes, trash pickup, etc.
– Allow for narrower lots (more lots can be served by less infrastructure = higher property values per acre = more value & less expense).
Transit vs. Poor Urban Design
Bus Stop
You need to drive if you
want to work here.
Bus Stop
Why it matters . . .
• VMT• Drivers’ licenses• Public health
Source: FHWA and US Census Bureau
Wisconsin: -12.1% VMT
Source: http://uspirg.org/reports/usp/moving-road
67%
Source: FHWA, US Census Bureau, Streetsblog.
~80%
<20 20-39 40-59 60-79 80+0.0%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
120.0%
140.0%
160.0%
Percent Change in Population by Age Group, 2010-2040Outagame, Calumet, Winnebago Counties
Perc
ent C
hang
e
Age GroupSource: WI DOA
No Data <10% 10%–14%
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults: 1985
(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14%
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults: 1990
(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19%
(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults: 1995
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% ≥20%
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults: 2000
(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults: 2005
(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults: 2010
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%
(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
Conclusion• Good design should be, at a minimum,
allowed; hopefully encouraged; ideally required.
• Many zoning practices from the 1950s and 60s, which remain in place today, mandate bad design.
• Bad zoning and other bad government regulations have led to many of the problems communities are facing today.
Conclusion• Good urban design, a solid transit
system, and sound planning are matters of public health.
• Market has responded to government regulations and provided vast tracts of isolated large-lot single-family homes and strip malls; we need to make “traditional” neighborhoods legal again and give people a choice in where they can live and how they move around our cities.
Resources
• Book: Suburban Nation, Duany, Plater-Zyberk, and Speck
• Websites & blogs:– www.cnu.org (interdisciplinary
organization – become a member!)– www.strongtowns.org– switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield– www.theatlantic.com/the-atlantic-cities– www.planetizen.com
Questions?Ben Zellers, AICP, CNU-A
Vierbicher999 Fourier Drive, #201
Madison, WI [email protected]
(608) 821-3967