Most cities have pervious cover limits. Most zoning laws require some open space on a lot.
And really, *are* open spaces becoming lesser in every city? Can you quote a source for that idea, Transparence? Or are you talking about open land outside of cities being developed?
In downtowns, density should be the name of the game, with open spaces planned strategically as part of an urban idea, not a per-site quota.
Wouldn't hurt in suburban development for that matter: consolidate those worthless landscape islands into something big enough to be meaningful. Plan whole corridors in relation to neighborhoods instead of just letting the 'strip' metastasize simply because it's got the requisite amount of dead grass for cig butts and cracked headlight lenses to collect in.
Plan whole corridors in relation to neighborhoods instead of just letting the 'strip' metastasize [...]
This is an interesting thought, Steven. Is this a matter of simply applying the standard plannerly formula (build to the right-of-way, parking in the rear, etc) or is there more of an intrinsic design problem associated with the commercial corridor that cannot be simply overcome by the standard set of design guidelines? I tend to think that design standards can certainly begin to address the problem, but due to many of the inherent flaws of mid-century planning of the rights-of-way, that actual solutions in pursuit of more viable neighborhoods are far more complex, i.e. how do you create pedestrian-scaled public space within a framework that was made for the automobile? The issue has little to do with open space, but rather how you create meaningful public space within a larger urban system.
Here in Indy we constantly have people whining that downtown needs "more parks". In fact Indy has far more open green space than most similarly-sized cities, but it's not well-used because it tends to be large expanses with no amenities nearby. As won said, open space needs to be meaningful, fulfilling a need for a different spatial quality within an overall field.
And as Steven said, those little lawn islands that collect litter and have no sidewalk are totally wrong.
Jul 2, 12 8:26 am ·
·
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.
Should Open spaces in construction be a part of the site plan?
Open spaces are becoming lesser in every city. Do major construction projects need to have open spaces as part of their site plans?
you need someplace to put the crane
its called open space zoning
geez where did the building experts go
Most cities have pervious cover limits. Most zoning laws require some open space on a lot.
And really, *are* open spaces becoming lesser in every city? Can you quote a source for that idea, Transparence? Or are you talking about open land outside of cities being developed?
In downtowns, density should be the name of the game, with open spaces planned strategically as part of an urban idea, not a per-site quota. Wouldn't hurt in suburban development for that matter: consolidate those worthless landscape islands into something big enough to be meaningful. Plan whole corridors in relation to neighborhoods instead of just letting the 'strip' metastasize simply because it's got the requisite amount of dead grass for cig butts and cracked headlight lenses to collect in.
Plan whole corridors in relation to neighborhoods instead of just letting the 'strip' metastasize [...]
This is an interesting thought, Steven. Is this a matter of simply applying the standard plannerly formula (build to the right-of-way, parking in the rear, etc) or is there more of an intrinsic design problem associated with the commercial corridor that cannot be simply overcome by the standard set of design guidelines? I tend to think that design standards can certainly begin to address the problem, but due to many of the inherent flaws of mid-century planning of the rights-of-way, that actual solutions in pursuit of more viable neighborhoods are far more complex, i.e. how do you create pedestrian-scaled public space within a framework that was made for the automobile? The issue has little to do with open space, but rather how you create meaningful public space within a larger urban system.
Oops, I meant IMpervious coverage limits.
Here in Indy we constantly have people whining that downtown needs "more parks". In fact Indy has far more open green space than most similarly-sized cities, but it's not well-used because it tends to be large expanses with no amenities nearby. As won said, open space needs to be meaningful, fulfilling a need for a different spatial quality within an overall field.
And as Steven said, those little lawn islands that collect litter and have no sidewalk are totally wrong.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.