Crossroads, Hamlet,Village, Town: Design Characteristics of Traditional Neighborhoods, Old and New

By Randall Arendt American Planning Association, Planning Advisory Service Report No. 487/488, 1999. Softcover, 144 pp., $34.00; PAS Subscribers, $17.00. ISBN 1-884829-33-3 Heritage neighborhoods like Arden, Delaware, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, and Mariemont, Ohio, provide inspiration to new urbanist designers and developers. In his generously illustrated book, Randall Arendt identifies and comments on these and other places that merit attention as hamlets, villages, or towns. He recommends illustrated design principles as a means of articulating and designing traditional neighborhoods. He also recommends that important spaces be researched and measured in order to effectively design new habitats with admirable greenways, streets, buildings, and lot arrangements. Arendt provides a wealth of historical place-making information on towns and communities from across the U.S. and abroad. Using 82 photographs, 110 plans, and 18 sketches, he traces the attributes of historical designs by John Nolen, Frederick Law Olmsted, and Werner Hege-mann, and introduces the more recent work of Duany Plater-Zyberk, Urban Design Associates, and Michael Corbett. Although the Historical Overview begins with a quote from Raymond Unwin from the 1909 treatise “Town Planning in Practice,” Unwin’s contributions at Letchworth (the first Garden City) and Hampstead Garden Suburb are not explained (save one illustration). Also not covered is the Atterbury/Olmsted work at Forest Hills Gardens in Queens, New York. These places are notable, as their designers responded appropriately to their natural settings and shaped communities that will soon celebrate 100 years of enjoyment. Building on his 1994 book Rural by Design, the author provides specific examples of the importance of the natural landscape to the design of neighborhoods that are attractive and visually pleasing. By respecting trees and the natural topography, Arendt demonstrates how “outdoor rooms” can be preserved. Arendt also addresses the streetscape. He emphasizes that: “Traditional neighborhoods, where different dwelling sizes and types comfortably intermingle, can succeed only if buildings work together to form a cohesive streetscape.” He expresses the streetscape dimension as a “building to building distance,” ranging from 50 to 70 feet for commercial building streetscapes, to 70 to 90 feet in what he describes as the central residential area. Streets and Greens Another key element of the book relates to the analysis of functional and dysfunctional examples of streets, paths, and open lands. He proclaims: “The most basic role of village design is to aim toward tying everything together with streets, sidewalks, footpaths, and also interconnected open spaces and trails.” In his Model Zoning Provisions for Village Development he advises that: “Villages shall be designed in a net-like pattern of blocks and interconnecting streets and alleys, defined by buildings, landscaping, pedestrian ways and sidewalks.” While concentrating on the big picture, Arendt also pays homage to the small and carefully crafted green space (which he describes as a “greenlet” or “parklet” of 5,000 to 10,000 square feet). He explains how such spaces add value and how they derive special importance as public spaces formed by buildings. Arendt displays sensitivity toward the human scale and proportion in neighborhood design, and offers built examples of villages and neighborhoods that are in harmony with their natural environment. Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the book is Arendt’s disdain for the forced geometry of the street pattern like that in Sandusky, Ohio. Instead, he advocates a form and pattern of streets that evolve from the interpretation of the natural landscape. He promotes short blocks, and a curvature of the street that blends with the terrain and unfolds views to buildings and the countryside. His criticisms of poorly planned and designed neighborhoods provide a thematic undercurrent of the tension between art and science during the Twentieth Century. For those who are just starting to design traditional neighborhoods and villages, the book will provide an excellent correlation between the image of the place in photographs, and the plan view depiction. It will also help to discipline the effort, through a four step design process. For those who will continue to design, expand, or rehabilitate these heritage places, the book will help to confirm the technique of town planning. For the municipal official that needs the inspiration to undo the ugly, dysfunctional results of the last 50 years of conventional suburban development, the book will lead you down the right path.