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