1. Contemporary Urban Planning

2. The New Urbanism

3. A new approach to urban planning that emerged in the 1980s and 90s
Notable individuals: Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk; and Peter Calthorpe
They often describe their work as “traditional neighborhood design”
They are critical of much 20th century planning that separated functions into zones

5. New England Today: Recent Development Typologies
6/30/2018
New England Today: Recent Development Typologies
Local.live.com

7. 6/30/2018
Local.live.com

8. New England Today: Recent Development Typologies
6/30/2018
New England Today: Recent Development Typologies
Overly wide streets
Expensive to build and maintain
Encourage speeding
Dangerous for children and pedestrians

9. New England Today: Recent Development Typologies
6/30/2018
New England Today: Recent Development Typologies
Overly wide streets
Expensive to build and maintain
Encourage speeding
Dangerous for children and pedestrians

12. 6/30/2018
Modern America
Street – stucco jungle

13. The New England town: Traditional Development Typologies that worked in the past and could be reinstated today

22. Smart Growth: The Need 100 million more Americans by 2037 1970:
6/30/2018
Smart Growth: The Need
100 million more Americans by 2037
1970:
44% of households were families with children and 17% of households were single individuals
2007:
35% w/children; 26% single individuals
In 2037:
27% w/children; 26% single individuals
70 million housing units (including replacements) will be required by 2037
30 billion sf of new non-residential construction and 70 billion sf of non-residential replacement construction by 2037
Demand:
More urban development, interesting places, smaller units
Address different standards for different transect zones
Design streets appropriate for pedestrians as well as vehicles
Encourage traffic calming measures to keep traffic slow on subdivision streets
Encourage stormwater management practices that are appropriate for the level of urban or suburban development
Planning magazine, January 2007

23. Ten Principles of Smart Growth supported by New Urbanists
6/30/2018
Ten Principles of Smart Growth supported by New Urbanists
Mixed land uses
Compact building design
A range of housing opportunities and choices
Walkable neighborhoods
Distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place
Preservation of open spaces, farmland, natural beauty, and environmental areas
(Smart Growth America)

24. Ten Principles of Smart Growth
6/30/2018
Ten Principles of Smart Growth
Development directed toward existing communities
A variety of transportation choices
Predictable, fair, and cost effective development
Community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions
Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost effective.”
Sprawl developments cost taxpayers big bucks, and these expenses are often unpredictable and out of control. If national, state, and local government policies did not encourage and subsidize sprawl, communities would have the chance to grow in very different ways than they have been growing.
It is time to change the sprawl subsidies and promote more well-planned developments that provide more choices for families.
Smart Growth is smart for taxpayers’ pocketbooks. [click]
(Smart Growth America)

25. The Principles of New Urbanism
6/30/2018
The Principles of New Urbanism
The Region: Metropolis,City and Town
The Neighborhood, the District, and the Corridor
The Block, the Street, and the Building
Many people see projects like Kentlands or Seaside and believe New Urbanism is all about new neighborhoods. The regional projects and infill projects are often overlooked.

26. 6/30/2018
The Region: towns and cities within a region should have clear boundaries, contributing to a sense of place.
Towns and cities within a region should have clear boundaries, contributing to
a sense of place. The land between towns should be preserved as open space—
wilderness or farm-land.
These edges are as important as the centers to the success of New Urbanism.
Boulder, Colorado has strict growth controls to protect the hillsides and mountain faces. This contributes to the sense of place, while focusing development into the traditional center.

27. 6/30/2018
The Region: each sector has its own appropriate densities, street sizes and mixture of retail and residential
Wilderness, farmland, villages, town edges, town centers, city neighborhoods, and city centers each have their own building densities, street sizes, and appropriate mixtures of retail, residential, and other functions.
This diagram, called the Transect, shows the type of street, landscaping, and building that is appropriate in each environment, from the rural to the most urban. By accommodating various types of development, New Urbanism ensures that it will all fit together as well as possible, while maximizing consumer choice.

28. 6/30/2018
The Neighborhood: each neighborhood has a center and an edge. The center should always have public space
The word “neighborhood” gets tossed around a lot in real estate brochures, so it is important to be clear what it means. Each neighborhood has a center and an edge. The center should be a public space, whether a square, a green, or an important intersection.
The statewide planning guidelines for Western Australia show towns developing as a collection of neighborhoods, each with a center and an edge.

29. The Neighborhood: the optimal size is a five minute walk
6/30/2018
The Neighborhood: the optimal size is a five minute walk
The optimal size of a neighborhood is a quarter-mile from center to edge. For most people, a quarter mile is a five-minute walk. For a neighborhood to feel walkable, many daily needs should be supplied within this five-minute walk. That includes not only homes, but stores, workplaces, schools, houses of worship, and recreational areas.
A five-minute walk will take you further on a grid pattern with good sidewalks than on a cul-de-sac pattern with difficult pedestrian crossings. Thus, street layout has a major impact on how many people fit within the “pedestrian shed” for a neighborhood center.

30. The Neighborhood: transit stops should be in a quarter mile radius
6/30/2018
The Neighborhood: transit stops should be in a quarter mile radius
People within a quarter-mile radius will walk to a major transit stop. Those who live further from a transit node are less likely to bother with the train or bus.
Some transit agencies report people routinely walking as much as a half-mile for access, but a quarter mile is a good rule of thumb.

31. The Block, Street, and Building
6/30/2018
The Block, Street, and Building
If there is one thing that reduces the livability of most postwar suburbs, it is the fact that streets do not feel like pleasant, shared spaces.
Note that the sidewalk abruptly ends. Even where it is present, it is right next to car traffic and there is nothing to look at but parking lots. There are also many dangerous curb-cuts for the large parking lots.

32. The Block, Street, and Building
6/30/2018
The Block, Street, and Building
In New Urbanism, streets are safe, comfortable, interesting places for people to walk and meet. Buildings open onto sidewalks, rather than parking lots. Windows and doors facing the sidewalk make streets safer, and more interesting, for everyone.
On this traditional street, there are storefronts to look in, few curb cuts, and pedestrians are protected from traffic by parked cars and street trees. As a result, this sidewalk actually carries pedestrians.

33. The Block, Street, and Building
6/30/2018
The Block, Street, and Building
New urbanist streets use buildings to provide a con-sistent and understandable edge. This accommodates buildings of all styles and functions. Important locations are reserved for grand, attention-getting buildings; other sites require buildings to respect their context.
New urbanist streets can accommodate cars while also providing comfort and convenience for pedestrians, bicyclists, and wheelchair users.
Note that the tall, modern building in the rear fits in with the historic buildings in the middle of the picture.

34. Early Efforts: Seaside, Florida (Duany and Plater-Zyberk)
6/30/2018
Early Efforts: Seaside, Florida (Duany and Plater-Zyberk)
The first new urbanist town to get built from the ground up was Seaside, on the Florida coast.
Seaside includes a variety of housing, but maintains control over color and placement with respect to the street.

35. Early Efforts: Laguna West, CA (Calthorpe)
6/30/2018
Early Efforts: Laguna West, CA (Calthorpe)
Laguna West, CA
Kentlands, MD
Between 1985 and 1993, several more large-scale projects were undertaken in America’s fast-growing suburbs. Kentlands and Laguna West were two of the best-known and most ambitious efforts.

36. New Traditional Neighborhoods
6/30/2018
New Traditional Neighborhoods
As the New Urbanism evolved, its proponents recognized that good urbanism is possible with many types of architecture, town layouts, and densities.

37. New Traditional Neighborhoods
6/30/2018
New Traditional Neighborhoods
NU can be done in cold-weather climates, addressing issues of snow storage, and the reality that many want their cars parked nearby
These two Colorado projects have served as examples for Lowell.

38. Form Based Zoning Codes

39. Current Zoning Tools: Setbacks
6/30/2018
Current Zoning Tools: Setbacks
We got some green here But is this right?
Development without pedestrian amenities does not encourage walking
Lack of sidewalks
Narrow sidewalks with no protection from vehicles
No connections between sidewalks

40. Current Zoning Tools: Parking Requirements
6/30/2018
Current Zoning Tools: Parking Requirements
We got some green here But is this right?
Development without pedestrian amenities does not encourage walking
Lack of sidewalks
Narrow sidewalks with no protection from vehicles
No connections between sidewalks

41. Zoning Tools: Parking Requirements
6/30/2018
Zoning Tools: Parking Requirements
We got some green here But is this right?
Development without pedestrian amenities does not encourage walking
Lack of sidewalks
Narrow sidewalks with no protection from vehicles
No connections between sidewalks

42. Regulatory Tools: Subdivision Standards
6/30/2018
Regulatory Tools: Subdivision Standards
Overly wide streets
Expensive to build and maintain
Encourage speeding
Dangerous for children and pedestrians

43. The Form Based Code: What Does It Do Differently?
Ferrell Madden Associates

44. The Form Based Code: What Does It Do Differently?
Form-Based Codes Institute

45. The Form Based Code: What Does It Do Differently?
6/30/2018
The Form Based Code: What Does It Do Differently?
Tools of Traditional Zoning:
Regulation of uses
Setbacks
Open space
Parking requirements
Subdivision standards
Density
Site plan review
Special permits
Design guidelines
Tools of the Form-Based Code:
Regulating plan
Building form standards
Height
Siting
Elements
Uses
Thoroughfare standards
Landscape standards
Architectural standards (optional)
Address different standards for different transect zones
Design streets appropriate for pedestrians as well as vehicles
Encourage traffic calming measures to keep traffic slow on subdivision streets
Encourage stormwater management practices that are appropriate for the level of urban or suburban development

46. The Form Based Code: What Does It Do Differently?
6/30/2018
The Form Based Code: What Does It Do Differently?
The Charrette
End of show

47. 6/30/2018 Address different standards for different transect zones
Design streets appropriate for pedestrians as well as vehicles
Encourage traffic calming measures to keep traffic slow on subdivision streets
Encourage stormwater management practices that are appropriate for the level of urban or suburban development

48. 6/30/2018 Address different standards for different transect zones
Design streets appropriate for pedestrians as well as vehicles
Encourage traffic calming measures to keep traffic slow on subdivision streets
Encourage stormwater management practices that are appropriate for the level of urban or suburban development

49. The Form Based Code: How Is It Documented?
Benicia, CA, Opticos Design

50. Public Spaces: Thoroughfare Standards
The Form Based Code: How Is It Documented?
Public Spaces: Thoroughfare Standards

51. Thoughts on Form-Based Codes
6/30/2018
Thoughts on Form-Based Codes
“We can’t tell if the (form-based code) is a radical, green left-wing document or a developer-friendly, market based right-wing one”
Jose Sanchez, Santa Rosa Press-Democrat
Address different standards for different transect zones
Design streets appropriate for pedestrians as well as vehicles
Encourage traffic calming measures to keep traffic slow on subdivision streets
Encourage stormwater management practices that are appropriate for the level of urban or suburban development

52. Here in Lowell

53. New Urbanism in Lowell: Neighborhood Squares
6/30/2018
New Urbanism in Lowell: Neighborhood Squares
“Streets and squares should be safe, comfortable and interesting to the pedestrian.”
End of show

54. New Urbanism in Lowell: Using Open Space
6/30/2018
New Urbanism in Lowell: Using Open Space
“A range of parks, from tot-lots and village greens to ballfields and community gardens, should be distributed within neighborhoods.”
End of show

55. New Urbanism in Lowell: The Acre Plan
6/30/2018
New Urbanism in Lowell:
The Acre Plan
“Within neighborhoods, a broad range of housing types and price levels can bring people of diverse ages, races and incomes into daily interaction, strengthening the personal and civic bonds essential to an authentic community.”
End of show

56. New Urbanism in Lowell: The Neighborhood Business District
6/30/2018
New Urbanism in Lowell: The Neighborhood Business District
“The metropolis is made of multiple centers that are cities, towns, and villages, each with its own identifiable center”
End of show

57. New Urbanism in Lowell:
6/30/2018
New Urbanism in Lowell:
Design Standards for Traditional Neighborhoods
“Individual architectural projects should be seamlessly linked to their surroundings.”
“Neighborhoods should be compact, and pedestrian-friendly. Many activities of daily living should occur within walking distance, allowing independence to those who do not drive, especially the elderly and the young.”
End of show

58. The result of NOT using a form-based code:
6/30/2018
The result of NOT using a form-based code:
Similar to what is being built new elsewhere We have it, and should celebrate it.

59. Alternative View of City Planning

60. Rem Koolhaas Dutch Studied film and television
Founded the firm OMA: Office for Metropolitan Architecture in 1975
Teaches at GSD (Graduate School of Design, Harvard)

61. "Deconstructivist Architecture" exhibition, 1988, Museum of Modern Art, New York

62. Zaha Hadid
Rem Koolhaas
Frank Gehry
Coop Himmelblau
Peter Eisenman
Daniel Libeskind

63. Paris, villa, 1991
Paris, Villa Dall'Ava, 1991, Arch.: R. Koolhaas

67. Lagos, Nigeria
Lack of infrastructure interests him here.

68. “Koolhaas/Lagos” (Netherlands 2005) Written and Directed by Bregtje van der Haak Produced by Sylvia Baan for Pieter van Huystee Film

69. Junk Space

70. “Self-regulating chaos”
Slow downs foster markets

71. “Culture of Congestion”
1978: Wrote Delirious New York
Celebrates “chance” and therefore the notion that “form follows function” (you cannot edit function and human activity)
Radical urbanism: Close juxtapositions of wildly disparate architecture. Cities are like a theme park. “Cross-programming” of unexpected functions.
Seeks unprecedented combinations

72. 2001

73. Rem Koolhaas et al, Harvard Design School Guide to Shopping, 2001

74. Rem Koolhaas et al, Harvard Design School Guide to Shopping, 2001

75. Rem Koolhaas et al, Harvard Design School Guide to Shopping, 2001

76. Rem Koolhaas et al, Harvard Design School Guide to Shopping, 2001

77. Rem Koolhaas et al, Harvard Design School Guide to Shopping, 2001

78. Rem Koolhaas et al, Harvard Design School Guide to Shopping, 2001

79. Rem Koolhaas
“Today's architecture is subservient to the market and its terms. The market has supplanted ideology. Architecture has turned into a spectacle. It has to package itself and no longer has significance as anything but a landmark.”

80. The Prada commission in Soho, NYC
Built 1882 by a leading department store of its day.

82. Most of the space in the store taken by the staircase; very little space used for the merchandise

85. Hanging baskets of merchandise
Accessories for sale in the elevator so you can shop vertically

86. Use architecture to reinforce the exclusivity of the brand

87. Seattle Public Library

88. Seattle, Public Library, 2005, arch
Seattle, Public Library, 2005, arch.: Rem Koolhaas, Office for Metropolitan Architecture

89. Seattle, Public Library, 2005, arch
Seattle, Public Library, 2005, arch.: Rem Koolhaas, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (Foto: Iben Falconer)

90. Seattle, Public Library, 2005, arch
Seattle, Public Library, 2005, arch.: Rem Koolhaas, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (Foto: Iben Falconer)

91. Seattle, Public Library, 2005, arch
Seattle, Public Library, 2005, arch.: Rem Koolhaas, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (Foto: Iben Falconer)

92. Seattle, Public Library, 2005, arch
Seattle, Public Library, 2005, arch.: Rem Koolhaas, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (Foto: Iben Falconer)

93. Chinese Central Television Headquarters, (CCTV) Beijing, China 2005-08

96. Beijing, CCTV Central Chinese Television Headquarters, 2005-2008, arch
Beijing, CCTV Central Chinese Television Headquarters, , arch.: Rem Koolhaas & OMA

97. Issues of human scale (windows)
Denies one formal view
Set on a concrete plinth (disconnected to the city)
Interior: compression and collision
Occupants have constant eye contact but are glassed off into separate spaces (social groups cannot mix)
Limited public access: the “Loop”
Executives separated from workers.

98. Beijing, CCTV Central Chinese Television Headquarters, 2005-2008, arch
Beijing, CCTV Central Chinese Television Headquarters, , arch.: Rem Koolhaas & OMA

99. Beijing, CCTV Central Chinese Television Headquarters, 2005-2008, arch
Beijing, CCTV Central Chinese Television Headquarters, , arch.: Rem Koolhaas & OMA

100. Beijing, CCTV Central Chinese Television Headquarters, 2005-2008, arch
Beijing, CCTV Central Chinese Television Headquarters, , arch.: Rem Koolhaas & OMA