Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Of the many important qualities and characteristics of the towns in our memories,
arguably the most fundamental is density. Density is harmless; it is simply the measure
of the quantity of something per unit volume, unit area, or unit length. However, to
planners, the word “density” means something specific: the number of housing units per
acre of land. This definition of density has lead to a general rule for the communities
that planners work with: low density plans are acceptable, while high density plans
generate controversy.
The roots of this rule lie in the poor start of city planning in the 1920's and 1930's,
from which planners have only begun to recover. In 1924, the Swiss architect Le
Corbusier devised the “Radiant City,” a town of 60-story towers arranged in a grid with
park-like landscaping to replace the streets. “Corb” promoted his tower ideas in Paris as
a replacement for dense, slum-like neighborhoods. In 1930, Frank Lloyd Wright
published his plan for Broad Acre City, a place of four square miles, developed with the
Usonian Home, a residence embracing agriculture and office space, at a density of one
unit per acre.
Early planners took two things from these ideas. First, the concept of dull, featureless
towers was adopted in this country as the preferred scheme for public housing.
Second, the single family lot subdivision became the model for post-World War II
housing. Density, it was decided, was for poor people.
1– Alex Krieger, “Since (and Before) Seaside,” an essay in Towns and Town Making Principles.
Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. A publication of Harvard University Graduate School of
Design.
The Mess We Now Confront
Today, planners face the mess created by blind adherence to the dictums of low-
density planning. When carefully examined, low density suburban pattern development
reveals both quality of life concerns and possibilities for improvement in the future.
Foremost among these is increased street length. Longer streets mean that it takes
longer to get from home to other necessary places, and that drivers will travel faster to
get there. This requires intersections to be built with increased curve radii, which in turn
increases the distance a pedestrian must travel to cross the street at an intersection. In
many places, however, this matters little – for as streets lengthen in suburbia, sidewalks
disappear.
Low density development and increased speed provide incentive for homes to be set
back farther from the road. Front porches are eliminated in favor of the patio or rear
yard terrace. Now, we hide the primary outdoor social element for each residence
behind each house, in effect removing sociability from the street and making social
activity a private, by-invitation-only affair.
Subdivisions developed today, in contrast to post-World War II subdivisions, lack
“walkability.” Walkability implies land-use mix at a finer grain than is found within the
current suburban pattern; that is, there must be destinations for people to walk to, such
as the corner store. Consider the convenience (or the present lack thereof) if people
can live within walking distance of the neighborhood bank, or a wine and cheese deli.
Consider the sense of identity, the sense of belonging, and the sense of stability
associated with varying levels of density. Low density suburban pattern development
generally possesses no visible organizational structure – much like Muzak, it can be
generally pleasant but never memorable. The quality of civility has also been lost in low
density development. No sense of place exists; there is no meeting and social space,
no reliable gathering-places to meet a friend, today, tomorrow, or the day after that.
Consider also the quality of dimensionality, the ability of a community to provide a
variety of housing types. Does the current low density development pattern provide for
the diverse needs of our current population? One of my co-panelists for the “Getting to
Density” audio conference,2 Michael Stepner, FAICP, FAIA, points out that the fastest-
growing sectors of the American population are the four “S” groups: Singles, Seniors,
Single-parent households, and Start-up households. These four groups make up 50%
of the population of the United States, and the total will increase to 60% in ten to
fifteen years. However, the real estate industry and developers are pretending that they
do not exist – housing to meet the needs of these groups is not being provided.
Finally, low density development leads to higher than justifiable ratios of commercial
land to residential land. This occurs because the piecemeal nature of subdivisions
means that residual parcels of land, isolated from residential developments (i.e. no
street network connection), become useful only for non-residential use, with access
from the main road. In addition, residents of suburban residential communities tire of
driving great distances in heavy traffic to shop; and the insidious lure of local
commercial development becomes attractive. Never mind that in ten years this same
commercial development will be tired, will lack allure, and become empty and derelict,
causing nearby residents to cry out for redevelopment, often through public subsidy.
2“Getting to Density’” November 6, 2002, 2003 Audio Conference Program, American Planning
Association and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
meanings. For example, “walkability” describes a positive facet of high density
development. Words like “pattern,” “grain,” and “texture” are effective visual cues for
describing land use mix, the repetitive elements of a place, or sections with other
similarities that vary only in density. The phrase “development intensity” can be
substituted for “density”. Reinventing the vocabulary of dialogue allows greater control
over a presentation to a community group.
Finally, structure urban design studies and present them at public meetings to
educate the community. Urban design plans depict the character of the urban form and
its component parts, so that people will understand what is of central focus, how certain
elements or places might have priority, and what is truly special or unique. Urban design
plans can provide conceptual visions that convey the character of new development, of
redevelopment, of proposed enhancements to older areas, and of proposed
improvements to the public realm. Urban design plans can also suggest design ideas to
enhance district or neighborhood identity and to address various issues, such as how
to integrate parking facilities into the urban fabric in a visually pleasing way.
3 “Annual Trade Expo at ICSC’s Spring Convention unveils latest industry products and services.”
Beth Mattson-Teig. Retail Traffic, May 2004. pp 166-174.
4 “Time to Rethink Pad Locations” Mark L. Tweed AIA. Retail Traffic, May 2004. pp 222.
Lincoln Street’s studies of the Liberty Township/Powell “big box” sites demonstrated
how density and land use mix can generate corrective development options. The
studies also led to a statement of objectives for development options for vacant sites,
and an initial definition of concepts.
building a more complete settlement, one with a sense of community. Each new development
where urban characteristics would accent the overall settlement, and compete effectively with
“big box” market factors. Building density in specific locations would break the “hum-drum”
of the suburban pattern, and would help to preserve the character of the predominant
residential geography. Building heights up to 60 feet in these locations would help to establish
The reported value of the 34 acre site was $2,357,600. The land value of the Liberty
Crescent development concept exceeded that amount by more than $1,000,000.
Seldom Seen A Mixed- use Community
Two additional development objectives, which were recommended to the Liberty
Township/ Powell client, led to the formulation of the Seldom Seen Mixed-use
Community development concept. These were:
3. Employ an urban design scope of effort. Stop focusing on project planning. Begin
planning vicinities. Recognize that projects actually transcend property lines in their
operational characteristics of use. Adopt urban design standards that would not, for example,
permit additional “sea of asphalt” parking lot developments. Plan projects for pedestrians, not
cars.
compatibility. Seek development proposals that facilitate the success of adjacent development.
Eliminate buffering and other measures to isolate projects from each other. Require
interconnectedness.
The land value of the Seldom Seen proposal (on Seldom Seen Road) was estimated at
more than $9,750,000. The plan included 238 single family town lots, 26 fee simple
garden plots for resident gardeners, 11 single family estate lots, 120 condominium
units, 8 Parkway commercial lots, 1 Parkway office site, 5 community office sites,
112,000 gsf of neighborhood shopping center space, 1 site for a church with three
chapels and a columbarium, a site for Seldom Seen Station, including Post Office,
Bank, Coffee shop, and future rail transit stop, a community building and recreation site
(5.85 acres), and the Seldom Seen Lawn, a linear park of 7.5 acres.
-end-