URBAN DESIGN PATTERNS FOR THE FUTURE
DOUGLAS FARR FOREWORD BY
JANETTE SADIK-KHAN
WE ALL WANT A PREFERRED FUTURE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE The conventional pace of change is too slow Changeline typology
CE AND C HA NGE. Trend porgress
Trend peak
Year
Milestone
Change
Extent of data Projected change
Time 1
2
3
4
Generation (1=25 years)
If we decarbonized the U.S. economy at the same rate as smoking cessation, we would miss our carbon targets by 100 years.
Loss aversion
(loss is worse than gain)
Applying proven accelerants will save decades 100%
PAIN FROM LOSS
50%
PLEASURE FROM GAIN
Acceleration strategies are needed to overcome our inherent resistance to change.
Loss Aversion - loss is worse than gain A loss is often valued more than an equal gain. For example, people who are given incentives up-front to meet a goal, and therefore have to give the incentive back if they fail to meet the goal, are significantly more likely to meet the goal than people given the incentive only after meeting the goal.
quo.
d
G
O
VE
RN
M
EN
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Inviting local change will save generations
Escalation of commitment
(justifying additional commitments) SWEET SPOT
CO
M
M
U
N
IT
Y
e size)
2
em
en
t
Everyone is yellow
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PILGRIMAGE SITES
IGNITING COMMUNITY
URBAN WATERS
I
Our Default World
Data That Trigger Emotion
01 02
II
Pilgrimage Sites
Our Preferred World Dreams of the Future
03
III
Where We Are
Where We Want to Go
Theory of Change Turning Fear Into Hope
04
Igniting Community
06
Acceleration Strategies
05
STRANDED CARBON
IV
Patterns of Change
Connecting Passions to Progress 07
Collective Effervescence
09
A Theater of Life
08 10 11 12 13 14 15
Self-Governing Neighborhoods Vibrant Density
Mobility in Walkable Places Neighborhood Economy Urban Waters
Stranded Carbon
The New Health, Safety, & Welfare
Time
3
ENGAGING & PROVOCATIVE INFOGRAPHICS 80+ yyrs 70-79 yrss 7 60-69 9 yrs
50-59 yrs No data
Global Threats Me
e Dreams of th Future
rit Our Empathy
% of pe op le liv in g on $1 .9 0/ da y ($ 20 11 )
00 388,865,0 L E B A IT U EQ NS AMERICA
0-20% % 20-40% 2 40-60 0%
ood?
eighborh Is Your Community a N RHO IT A NEIGHBO L E T ’ S P L AY , I S
OD
S TA R T HERE
1. NAME
e?
Does it have a nam
0-20
ECONOMIC DIS
Y
t one place Does it have at leas er? that serves as its cent
Create a center
N
3. 1.
3. CENTER
Y Define extent
N
4. EXTENT
erally Does it have a gen extent? agreed-upon spatial
Y
PARIT
0.50-0.75 No data
munties it bisects? Do the primary users of the high way hold standing with the elected officials and MPO’s representing the area effected by the highway? Wou ld the high removal challeng way e the powerbases of these representatives or contituent groups?
0-20
ENVIRONMENT AL IMPACT
What is the freew ay contribution of air pollution, part iculates, and asth ma relative to the surr ounding area?
0-10
TRAFFIC VOLU
Y
ME
Enhance connectivity
N
6. CONNECTED
and Does it have internal ? external connectivity
0.02-0 0.09 0POLIT 0.1 0 ICA 0-0 L CO .25 5 TITUENC5 NS Y Does the highway serve the business 0.2in6-0 and residents es 0 .49 the com
Y How much do pove rty outcomes, and prop levels, educational erty values differ from one side to another?
Add uses
N
5. MIXED USE
y facilities Does it have everyda h it is not and services, althoug ed? tain self-con
= TEAR IT DOWN
START HERE
Clarify identity
N
where it is, Do residents know ther they what it is, and whe belong to it?
Does the existing traffic justify maintaining the infrastructure? Assi gn points by compari ng the question to surround highway in ing highways in the region.
0-20
DISCONNECTIV
N
diversity within it, Does it have social bling? or it is open to its ena
Y
8.
n, ns of representatio Does it have a mea ents can be a means by which resid an ability and involved in its affairs, ctive voice? to speak with a colle
Introduce $ diversity
N
Y
ORHOOD. IT’S A NEIGHB YOU WIN!
Establish a means of representation
ITY
To what extent does the existing infrastructure nega tively impact the connective tissu e of the city?
Y
7. $ DIVERSE
4
> 60
Y
2. BELONG
ON 8. REPRESENTATI
All Urban Highwa ys Should be JUSTIFYIN G URBAN H Considere d TempoI GraHry W AY S
G en de r in eq ua lit y in de x (2 01 5)
Give it a name
N
1.
S TA R T OVER
60-80% 80-100% No data
REGIONAL IMP
0-10
ORTANCE OF HIGHWAY
Could existing rout es carry a significant amount of traffic if the highway were removed?
0-15
INCREASED CA
PACITY
Could transform ing a highway to a multimodal corr idor, or institutin g advanced mass tran sit or autonomous vehicle technolo gy serve a greater population of user s in geometric footprin the same t as the highway?
70 PATTERNS OF CHANGE 69 THOUGHT & PRACTICE LEADERS 07
Collective Effervescence
Community Organizing Mary Nelson | Participatory Art Candy Chang via Kareeshma Ali | Anchor Houses Isis Ferguson | Spaces into Places Fred Kent | Artist Venues $teven Ra$pa | Food Culture Janine de la Salle | Edible Landscaping Steve Nygren
08
Self-Governing Neighborhoods
Neighborhood Dreams Alicia Daniels Uhlig | CheckUps Jessica Millman | Charrettes Bill Lennertz | Tactical Urbanism Mike Lydon | Street Fight Janette Sadik-Khan/ Seth Solomonow | Business Improvement Districts Jamie Simone | Just Neighborhoods Antwi Akom/Tessa Cruz/Aekta Shah | Data Infrastructure Nancy Clanton | Unfolding Governance Daniel Slone
09
A Theater of Life
Everyday Neighborhoods Emily Talen | Third Places Ray Oldenberg via Aly Andrews | Microunits Patrick Kennedy | Diverse Dwellings Stefanos Polyzoides/ Vinayak Bharne | Diverse Buildings Daniel Parolek | One Style Steve Nygren
10
Vibrant Density
Optimal City Height Jason McLennan | Lovable Buildings Steven Mouzon | Un-Embedded Parking John Ellis/Mohammad Momin | Redevelopment-Ready Parking Douglas Farr | Higher-Density Housing Todd Zimmerman/Laurie Volk/Christopher Volk-Zimmerman | Missing Middle Housing Daniel Parolek | Hidden Density Brent Toderian | Coach Houses Tim Kirkby | Incremental Developers R. John Anderson
11
Mobility in Walkable Places
12
Neighborhood Economy
13
Urban Waters
Bikesharing; Carsharing Susan Shaheen | Residential Vehicle Trips; Non-Residential Vehicle Trips David Fields | Induced Demand David Fields/Joshua KarlinResnick | Temporary Urban Highways; Urban Highway Removal Andrew Faulkner/Chris Sensenig Local Housing for All Douglas Farr | Walk-To Jobs Ilana Preuss | Entrepreneurial Retail Daryl Rose Davis | Walk-To Retail; Delight Pedestrians Robert Gibbs | Zero Waste Gail Vittori Blue Infrastructure; Beautiful Engineering Thomas H. Price | Delight the Senses Herbert Dreiseitl | Stormwater Transfer Daniel Slone | Non-Potable Water; Wastewater Treatment John Leys | Clean Waters Thomas Ennis | Resource Recovery Debra Shore | Heat Recapture Brent Shraiberg
14
Stranded Carbon
15
The New Health, Safety, & Welfare
Net-Zero Energy Ready Matthew McGrane | Goldilocks Glazing; Optimal Orientation Sachin Anand/Sameer Divekar | Passive House Katrin Klingenberg | District Systems Cole Roberts | Behavior & Data Clare Butterfield
Active Living Richard Jackson | Local Wellness Lawrence Morrissey | 20 MPH Streets Dan Burden/Samantha Thomas | Walk-To Parks John Crompton via Grant Hromas | Landscape Reuse Maurice Cox/James MacMillen/ Erin Kelly/Alexa Bush/Omar Davis/Dan Rieden | Open Stairs Scott Bernstein | Megatalls. NOT! Douglas Farr | Dark Skies; Night Lighting; Beautiful Lighting Nancy Clanton
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A PATTERN ON SELF-GOVERNING NEIGHBORHOODS Maintain the health of your neighborhood by
holding annual planning checkups. Maintain the health of your neighborhood by holding annual planning checkups. JESSICA MILLMAN President The Agora Group
THE NEIGHBORHOOD CHECKUP The Neighborhood Checkup is less rigorous than a charrette and is initiated between periods of intense planning, such as comprehensive plan updates or zoning revisions. The goal of the Neighborhood Checkup is to maintain or enable innovation by adapting to change. Critical to success is the focus on implementing comprehensive plan actions or testing innovations in advance of the next plan update (see Tactical Urbanism). The Neighborhood Checkup should occur annually.
THE DOCTORS The Neighborhood Checkup is most successfully directed by a citizen led planning organization. The scope or focus of the Checkup determines the team of “doctors” required. For example, if the focus of the Checkup is an evaluation of a comprehensive plan, you should consider establishing a peer network of neighboring jurisdictions to serve as outside evaluators.
KEY BENEFITS • • •
Focus is on delivering tangible results Opportunity to engage entire community including youth, artists, seniors, etc. Development of Citizen Planners informed and able to proactively participate in planning issues
PROCESS Kick-Off Meeting A citizen led planning organization (or group of citizen planners) should convene one year after comprehensive plan adoption to discuss the Neighborhood Checkup process and timeline. Your community many have a citizen planning
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organization but if not, a group can be formed as a natural outgrowth of the municipal planning process. The organization should be comprised of active and respected citizens in the community. In addition, tap into planners, urban designers, and architects who live in the community. The citizen planning organization can be created by the community or with assistance from the municipal government. This includes establishing meeting locations and times (week days, week nights, and/ or weekends). The timeline for Checkup completion should be no more than three to six months. In addition, the techniques for promoting Checkup activities should be identified. This is also an appropriate time to discuss the budget available for conducting the Checkup. The budget could be provided by the municipal government or grants sought from community foundations and funds. Check-Up Promotion Every community has a number of preferred communication tools whether it is through a weekly local newspaper, a Facebook page, email listserv, or word of mouth. Identify your neighborhood’s most effective communication methods and use them to promote and advertise Checkup activities.
The timeline for Checkup completion should be no more than three to six months.
Brainstorming Topics The Checkup should focus on the implementation of community goals and objectives articulated in the comprehensive plan or creative innovations that address a new issue or challenge in the community. In fact, the Comprehensive Plan may specifically reference or request a Neighborhood Checkup and provide some direction on topics to cover. The Checkup can also be used to monitor and evaluate the implementation of a comprehensive plan. See > CHARRETTES > FOOD CULTURE examples below. > PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING
SELF-GOVERNING NEIGHBORHOODS - CHECK-UPS
FIGURE 8.3. A neighborhood workshop in action. (C) Nancy Campbell.
The Checkup The activities of the Checkup will depend on the topic area(s) selected as the focus of the examination. The provision of food and drink is the one constant in all Checkups. A sated community is a happy, healthy, and productive one! Ideas include: • Making Your Neighborhood Artist Ready (see Ch. 7: Collective Effervescence) • Participatory Budgeting • Local Food (see Ch. 7: Collective Effervescence) • Diversity (see Ch. 10: Vibrant Density) • Audit of comprehensive plan implementation activities
Post-Exam Follow-Up Unlike your annual physical, the results of the Neighborhood Checkup need to be vigorously communicated. The same means of communication used during promotion can be used to advertise the Checkup results. Be sure to highlight potential Comprehensive Plan updates to municipal planners and/or elected officials.
CHECK-UPS - SELF-GOVERNING NEIGHBORHOODS
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WHAT STANDS BETWEEN US AND A SUSTAINABLE NATION? MERELY OURSELVES.
From bestselling author Douglas Farr comes Sustainable Nation: Urban Design Patterns for the Future. His first book Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design with Nature helped shift the focus of urban sustainability from the stand-alone building to the high-performance neighborhood. Given the urgency of the many challenges that society now faces, Sustainable Nation hopes to accomplish an even more dramatic shift: to focus on how long change takes and the many ways to drive change faster than ever before. The book posits that society can overcome our major challenges around decarbonization in four generations: the lifetime of a child born today. Sustainable Nation: Urban Design Patterns for the Future presents in four parts: Our Default World: an infographic snapshot of today that triggers empathy; Our Preferred Future: fictional short stories and timelines that evoke a preferred future; Theory of Change: a sobering deep dive into how long change takes and an ultimately hopeful cataloguing of how to speed it up; and Patterns of Change: immediately actionable guidance from development experts on how groups of people, not affiliated with government, can accelerate desired neighborhood and professional change. Readers will find that this book: • Provides an understanding of the future of urban trends and design • Recognizes that to address climate change, one must overcome irrational quirks of the human brain (heuristics) through framing, nudges, and by restitching our torn social fabric • Changes culture by providing practitioners, students, and local actors with urban design patterns that can be immediately applied to guide the betterment of neighborhoods Douglas Farr (FAIA, LEED AP, CNU-A) is an architect, urbanist, author, and passionate advocate for sustainable design thinking. Doug heads Farr Associates, a Chicago-based firm that plans and designs lovable, aspirational buildings and places. A native Detroiter, Doug Co-Chaired the development of LEED-ND and has served on the boards of urban sustainability organizations including the Congress for New Urbanism, Bioregional, EcoDistricts, and Elevate Energy. In 2017, Planetizen readers named him one of “the 100 most influential urbanists of all time.”
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