Visualizing Density (Lincoln
Institute)In the realm of community
planning and land development, "density" is an often used but rarely understood
term. The physical density of a development project can be measured in numerical
terms, but such a measurement fails to convey the look and feel of density.
Measured density is often very different than perceived density.
Visualizing
DensityLand Use Impacts on
TransportationLand Use (also called
Land Development, Spatial Development, Community Design, Urban Design, Cityscape
or The Built Environment) refers to various land use factors, such as density,
mix, connectivity and the quality of the pedestrian environment. These factors
affect travel behavior by affecting the distances that need to be traveled
between destinations, and the relative efficiency of different modes.
Land Use Impacts on
TransportationMixed Land
UseSmart growth supports the
integration of mixed land uses into communities as a critical component of
achieving better places to live. By putting uses in close proximity to one
another, alternatives to driving, such as walking or biking, once again become
viable. Mixed land uses also provides a more diverse and sizable population and
commercial base for supporting viable public transit.
Mixed Land UseLand Use Change ArticleThe collapse in the housing market and high gasoline
prices are bad news for middle-class homeowners left to sift through the
wreckage. But if thee is consolation to be found amid the rubble, it may be that
the inexorable spreading out that has characterized American life since World
War II might finally be coming to an end.
Washington Post End of
Sprawl.pdfCost
of Community Services Cost of Community
Services (COCS) studies are a case study approach used to determine the average
fiscal contribution of existing local land uses. A subset of the much larger
field of fiscal analysis, COCS studies have emerged as an inexpensive and
reliable tool to measure direct fiscal relationships.
Cost of Community
Services.pdfMaking Transit Oriented
Development Work ArticleEven a cursory
glance around the country suggests that transit-oriented development is hot; new
TODs are on the drawing boards everywhere, from Alaska to Florida. Its advocates
tout benefits ranging from more compact development and less automobile
dependence to new retail opportunities.
Making Transit Oriented
Development Work.pdfSmart
CodeThe SmartCode is a model transect-based
development code available for all scales of planning, from the region to the
community to the block and building. The code is intended for local calibration
to your town or neighborhood. As a form-based code, the SmartCode keeps towns
compact and rural lands open, while reforming the destructive sprawl-producing
patterns of separated use zoning.
Smart Code