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Score your community! Design principles for great places After conducting a Built Environment Rating, the participants in our Images of the Western Reserve workshop discussed why they liked some places better than others. Then they derived 47 basic principles to describe the features of the places they preferred. We took the 47 principles and created this score sheet. The scores reflect our judgment of the relative importance of each principle. This is a preliminary attempt at developing a simple tool that citizens can use to evaluate proposed developments (and existing places) in their communities. This score sheet can be used to evaluate neighborhoods in almost all types of development, from downtowns to villages, from pre-war suburbs to post-war exurbs. Just use the applicable principles for the selected neighborhood (either real or planned), then total all points to find out how well designed that neighborhood is: -500 to 0 points—Failing Neighborhood *** Urban structure 1. Walkable Neighborhoods. Within a 3,000-foot
radius of the center of the neighborhood or town, are there a mixture
of uses (residential, commercial, retail, civic, recreational)? Do the street proportions (ratio of building height
to street width) conform to the following standards? 2. Mixed Uses. Have buildings that support a
mix of uses (e.g. apartments above shops) been included in the neighborhood? 3. Town Center. Is there a town center, which
includes offices, retail, residential, and/or mixed-use buildings? 4. Compact Development. Does the town center
have the greatest concentration of development (density and intensity),
located at the center using at least two-story buildings, with a lower
concentration of development at the periphery? And, where possible, are
vacant lots infilled first before building on virgin land? Getting around 5. Connected Streets. Does the interior street
system create an interconnected network where each street connects to
at least two other streets and where blocks do not exceed 1000 feet? 6. Rural Roads. Have rural roads been kept free
of commercial development, residential subdivisions, sidewalks, power
lines, and street trees? 7. Efficient Avenues. Are heavy traffic streets
designed as avenues with 2 or 3 lanes in each direction, limited curb
cuts, planting strips at both edges, street trees, underground utilities,
and continuous sidewalks on both sides? 8. Shady Boulevards. Are medium traffic streets
designed as boulevards with 1 or 2 lanes in each direction, a central
landscaped median (minimum width 10 feet) with integral turning lanes,
limited curb cuts, planting strips at both edges, street trees, underground
utilities, and continuous sidewalks on both sides? 9. Main Streets. Are central commercial streets
designed as Main Streets with 1 travel lane in each direction, on-street
parking (angled or parallel), large parking lots behind the buildings,
street trees, underground utilities, continuous sidewalks on both sides
(10 feet minimum width), and two story buildings brought to the edge of
the sidewalk on one or both sides? Are Main Streets no wider than 36 feet
with parking on both sides? 10. Quiet Residential Lanes. Are residential
streets designed with 1 travel lane in each direction, on-street parallel
parking on one or both sides, 6-foot planting strips at both edges, street
trees, underground utilities, and at least 5 feet wide sidewalks on both
sides? Are the Quiet Residential Lanes no wider than 28 feet with parallel
parking on one side, or 34 feet with parallel parking on both sides? 11. Convenient Alleys. Are alleys used to access
garages in areas that accommodate bungalows, townhomes, and apartments?
Are the alleys no wider than 18 feet (preferably 12 feet)? 12. Hidden Parking. Where is the majority of
off-street parking for retail, commercial and civic uses located? 13. On-Street Parking. Is on-street parking allowed
for on all residential streets and on all Main Streets? 14. Planting Strips. Are planting strips (minimum
6 feet wide) located between the curb and sidewalk on all Quiet Residential
Lanes, Shady Boulevards, and Efficient Avenues? 15. Appealing Sidewalks. Is pedestrian circulation
encouraged through the provision of sidewalks connecting uses with one
another? And are these sidewalks at least 5 feet wide in residential areas
and 10 feet wide in commercial areas? 16. Safe Crosswalks. Are crosswalks made safer
by … 18. Public Transit. Is a well-appointed bus or
transit stop with shelter and good signage provided? Civic places 19. Prominent Government Buildings. Are Town
Halls, Post Offices, Libraries, and Courthouses … 20. Community Churches. Are churches … 21. Neighborhood Schools. Are schools … 22. Town Squares. Do communities have a common
green, square, or central open space near the Town Center? 23. Gazebos. Do the Town Squares have attractive
gazebos? 24. Public Seats. Do communities have public
seats and benches in the following locations? Charming commerce 25. Shopping Streets. Are retail establishments
designed to fit within a shopping street that is configured like a Main
Street, and do these shopping streets have mixed-use buildings with offices
or apartments above shops? 26. Neighborhood Offices. Are offices designed
as part of a Main Street? 27. Entertainment Centers. Are entertainment
centers with theaters, bars, and restaurants designed as part of a Main
Street? 28. Local Industry. Are non-hazardous industries
(e.g. automotive shops, wood shops, metal shops, etc.) that employ fewer
than 50 people located in facilities within walking distance (3000 feet)
of residential and commercial areas? 29. Corner Buildings. Are prominent corners designed
with buildings adjacent to the sidewalk (Sidewalk Buildings), Welcoming
Entries, and Hidden Parking? 30. Sidewalk Cafés. Are sidewalk cafés
with outdoor seating, low walls or fences, and some overhead protection
provided in Entertainment Centers and as part of a Main Street? Neighborhood homes 31. Stately Homes. Are the largest homes in the
community … 32. Bungalows. Are the majority of single family,
detached homes in the community … 33. Town Homes. Are attached homes in the community
… 34. Village Apartments. Are two- to three-story
apartments in the community … 35. City Apartments. Are four- to seven-story
apartments in the community … Better buildings 36. Welcoming Entries. Are entries to all buildings
visible and accessible from the street? 37. Human Scale. Are buildings designed to be
at the human scale using the following attributes? 38. Storefront Windows. Are ground level retail
functions designed with traditional storefront windows that run the length
of the façade? 39. Vertical Windows. Are windows in buildings
vertically oriented (as opposed to unbroken bands of horizontal windows)? 40. Textured Architecture. Are buildings designed
to give texture and depth to the façade? 41. Hidden Garages. Are garages in residential
neighborhoods… 42. Sidewalk Buildings. Are all buildings oriented
parallel to the sidewalk and, in commercial areas, brought directly to
the edge of the sidewalk? 43. Porches and Balconies. Do residential buildings
have either porches or balconies that are at least 6 feet deep? 44. Visible Roofs. Are all residential buildings,
except village and city apartments, built with visible roofs with at least
a 6:12 slope? Landscapes 45. Protected Natural Areas. Are natural areas
like wetlands, prime agricultural land, viewsheds, and watersheds preserved? 47. Preserved Rural Character. Are prime
farmlands, rural roads, and historic farm structures preserved?
EcoCity Cleveland |
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