Citizen Activist member of the Congress for the New Urbanism
In Houston, the traditional way of building neighborhoods has been left behind. The introduction of the automobile has allowed subdivisions to be built without their traditional centers where most commercial and community activity took place. The entire "neighborhood" now consists only of houses. Even if there is a sidewalk to walk on, there is nothing in particular to walk to. At first, it seemed like a utopia where people could live surrounded by nature but on small affordable lots. But as we became dependent on the automobile, and our communities changed to accommodate it, the utopia faded. In its place is traffic congestion in lightly populated areas. We gained more open space, but have less time to enjoy it as we spend more time in our cars. We have also lost a sense of community, and a sense of place. Our interaction with our neighbors is often reduced to waving to each other as we drive our cars into and out of our garages. Our interactions with other members of the community are limited to passing each other on the street in our cars. We are unhappy with the current situation. We move further out to a new place that is to be better, only to find that, with time, it becomes just like the place we left before.
The current model for building new communities is to separate uses into individual groups, or pods. There is a pod for single-family detached homes, a pod for apartments, a pod for retail activities and a pod for commercial activities - and no civic center. The residential pods typically consist of cul-de-sacs emptying onto the collector streets, which connect at single points to arterials. The other pods also connect to these same arterials which, in turn, supply the highways. Someone may live a stone's throw from the local grocery store, but because of physical barriers between the pods, they cannot access it directly. So, this person is forced to drive their car a much greater distance, and join the through traffic on the arterials, to go to a local destination. This design forces all traffic, local and through traffic, to follow a single route causing congestion. This design also discourages, or even prevents, people from walking to their local destinations. This is especially important to note since approximately 50% of the population cannot drive. They are too young, too old, disabled, or unable to afford a car. There are also a large number of citizens who have their driver's licenses, but would rather not drive because of the real dangers that exist.
In contrast to the existing model is New Urbanism or Traditional Neighborhood Design (TND). TND appeals to those who want to escape suburban sprawl, become less automobile dependent, live in a better community, and appreciate the style and character of a well executed, real neighborhood. It is a return to the small town environment that most of us long for. One that is family oriented and makes us feel less isolated and more connected with the rest of the community. A community that is less car-oriented and is safer and more comfortable for pedestrians and bicyclists, especially our children.
In TND, a neighborhood, or village, should have a center and an edge. Ideally, the distance between the two should only be one third to one half of a mile or about a ten minute walk*, apart. Beyond ten minutes, most people will lose patience, rather than get tired, at reaching their destination. Alternatively, villages could be bigger with the availability of public transportation. Then the guide is a ten-minute walk to reach your destination or a transit stop.
This size limitation then puts everyone within walking distance of his or her daily needs. Available in the village center would be groceries, a drug store, day care, postal services, dry cleaners, ATM, and, perhaps, a police sub-station. Also located here would be a transit stop for a regional transportation system.
Also within walking distance would be all daily activities: school, recreation, churches and employment. This is important for those who cannot, or do not wish to, drive. A school’s size would be based on how many children are within walking or cycling distance. With all of the children’s activities close by, parents are freed from the duty of chauffeuring. The elderly, who give up driving long before they lose their ability to walk, can remain in their homes rather than being forced into retirement communities to meet their needs.
With the close proximity of daily activities, and the convenience of public transportation, the number and length of trips by car are reduced. This reduces the stress of being in traffic and minimizes the expense of road construction and air pollution. Families could get by with one less car. With car ownership at a cost of $4,500 to $6,000 per year, depending on where you live and what you drive, this is significant savings, even after paying transit costs.
A town, then, is made up of several of these villages all linked by a regional transportation system. One of these villages would actually be a town center containing office and light industrial commercial buildings. This town center would also include the major retail center. Instead of a congested shopping mall surrounded by a hostile mega-parking lot, it would be a group of streets and blocks. These blocks would contain mixed-use buildings, multi-level parking, open squares and pocket parks; maybe even a "riverwalk" project. The mixed-use buildings would contain office or retail space on the lower floor(s) and office or residential space on the upper floors. Again, for public transit to work, there must be a mix of residential as well as commercial space so that there is an all day flow of people in and out of the town center area.
The compactness of the villages is helpful to the local environment. How? By decreasing sprawl, more land is left undeveloped between the villages. This land is where the golf courses, sports parks and nature preserves are located. Small parks exist within the villages but the large, regional parks are located between the villages.
The village centers have public buildings, like community centers, placed in a prominent place with beautiful architecture that speaks of how important the building is. The village centers have retail and other commercial buildings all together to make them convenient from every direction. Above these commercial buildings would be apartments. As you travel out from this village center, housing would become less dense. You would transition from apartments or condominiums, to townhouses, to patio homes, to single family detached homes, to large "estates." The patio homes and single family detached homes would be on 50' to 70' lots just like we have now. With this transitioning, you would have fewer conflicts between residential and commercial development.
The main thing you get with such an arrangement is a sense of community. With the village center, with its pedestrian oriented design, you eventually draw in everybody. This allows for interaction and natural human social behavior to take place. People begin to talk to one another. The village center also gives teenagers a place to gather where they feel adults do not bother them, but they are not hidden from the view of parents and local law enforcement.
Two important elements of TND are the layout of the streets and blocks and where buildings are placed on the lot.
Streets should be laid out in a grid pattern. Streets can still be curved as long as a grid is maintained. This grid pattern gives motorists, cyclists and pedestrians many paths to take to get where they are going. With an interconnecting grid pattern, streets are designed so that local traffic is kept off of arterials and through traffic is kept off of local streets. Included in this grid are alleys, or lanes. With the garages accessed from the lanes, there is less traffic on the streets in front of the houses, where children typically play. And the lanes are not the narrow, dark and dangerous-looking alleys of the past. The pavement itself is narrow, requiring one-way traffic flows. However, the garages are set back at least fifteen feet from the curb. There is attractive landscaping that must be maintained as well as the landscaping in front of the houses. To be assured that this maintenance is performed, the neighborhood association could do it.
In TND, the placement of homes on the lot is important. Front porches are also important. The front porch is the owner’s public space. You sit out on your front porch in order to socialize with anyone who might come along. The front porch railing defines the limit that a visitor can approach without an invitation to come in.
The house and its front porch should be no more than 15 feet from the sidewalk. Fifteen feet is the maximum distance over which a conversation can be comfortably carried out. These design elements have been used in Cottage Green, in The Woodlands (I live in the Woodlands). On one recent Sunday afternoon walk, I saw a couple sitting out on their front porch reading the paper. As I walked along on the sidewalk, they looked up to see who was approaching. I waved and, without having to shout, said "howdy." They responded warmly and waved back. All three of us were so amazed at the pleasantness of the experience that we were subsequently left speechless as I continued on.
Also important are garage apartments, for three reasons. One, they help with security of the alleys. They provide "eyes on the street" to inhibit criminal activity. Second, they provide inexpensive housing for those who would rather live in a quiet neighborhood than in a crowded apartment complex. In The Woodlands these tenants would typically be employees of the local village shopping centers, or students at Montgomery College. The students’ parents live in The Woodlands but they each want more freedom. I would expect rent for one of these garage apartments to be in the $300-$400 range. This would go a long way toward helping with the owner's mortgage payment and is much cheaper than the $600-$700 rent that most new apartments demand.
Third, garage apartments slightly increase the density of the population in a neighborhood making public transportation more viable. After all, TND is for people who want to become less automobile dependent, live in a better community, and appreciate the style and character of a well executed neighborhood.
________________________
* Andres Duany, one of the leaders of the New Urbanist movement, recently contended that limiting distances to a five minute walk will guarantee that 100% of able people will walk to all of their destinations every time.
To contribute to Livable Houston's Point of View, please send your essay to crossley@gulfcoastideas.org. Livable Houston is not responsible for factual errors by writers, although we will exercise whatever care we can to prevent errors from appearing. www.livablehouston.org