THIRTEEN PRINCIPLES OF NEW URBANIST NEIGHBORHOODS, DEVELOPED BY ANDRÉS DUANY AND ELIZABETH PLATER-Z YBERK

THIS IS FROM BURKE, BILL KEELER, MARIAN - FUNDAMENTALS OF INTEGRATED DESIGN FOR SUSTAINABLE BUILDING (THE BOOK I AM READING. I FOUND THIS VERY INTERESTING AND THOUGH I SHOULD SHARE IT!

1. The neighborhood has a discernible center. This is

often a square or a green and sometimes a busy or

memorable street corner. A transit stop would be

located at this center.

2. Most of the dwellings are within a fi ve-minute

walk of the center, an average of roughly 1/4 mile

or 1,320 feet (0.4 km).

3. There are a variety of dwelling type—usually

houses, row houses, and apartments—so that

younger and older people, singles and families,

the poor, and the wealthy may fi nd places to live.

4. At the edge of the neighborhood, there are shops

and offi ces of suffi ciently varied types to supply

the weekly needs of a household.

5. A small ancillary building or garage apartment is

permitted within the backyard of each house. It

may be used as a rental unit or place to work (for

example, an offi ce or craft workshop).

6. An elementary school is close enough so that

most children can walk from their home.

7. There are small playgrounds accessible to every

dwelling—not more than a tenth of a mile away.

8. Streets within the neighborhood form a connected

network, which disperses traffi c by providing

a variety of pedestrian and vehicular routes to

any destination.

9. The streets are relatively narrow and shaded by

rows of trees. This slows traffi c, creating an environment

suitable for pedestrians and bicycles.

10. Buildings in the neighborhood center are placed

close to the street, creating a well-defi ned outdoor

room.

11. Parking lots and garage doors rarely front the

street. Parking is relegated to the rear of buildings,

usually accessed by alleys.

12. Certain prominent sites at the termination of

street vistas or in the neighborhood center are

reserved for civic buildings. These provide sites

for community meetings, education, and religious

or cultural activities.

13. The neighborhood is organized to be selfgoverning.

A formal association debates and

decides matters of maintenance, security, and

physical change. Taxation is the responsibility of

the larger community.

Source: The Thirteen Points of Traditional Neighborhood

Development, New Urbanist Design, available for download at

http://newurbanist.com/principles.asp.