{"id":7409,"date":"2021-05-01T08:55:20","date_gmt":"2021-05-01T12:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/?p=7409"},"modified":"2021-05-01T08:54:47","modified_gmt":"2021-05-01T12:54:47","slug":"thrive-explained-how-design-can-add-value-and-build-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/2021\/05\/thrive-explained-how-design-can-add-value-and-build-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Thrive Explained: How Design Can Add Value and Build Community"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Thrive
\nWritten by Casey Anderson and Nicholas Holdzkom<\/em><\/p>\n

Design of the built environment strongly influences our quality of life. The pattern of development across a city, county, and region; the configuration of neighborhoods and districts; and the architecture of individual buildings collectively shape our perception of places and influence how we choose to travel, recreate, and socialize.<\/p>\n

This series has explained how Thrive Montgomery 2050<\/a> addresses design at each of these scales. The post on compact growth outlined a countywide framework for concentrating development along corridors. The post on complete communities addressed design at the level of neighborhoods and districts, describing how a mix of uses and amenities can be built \u2013 literally and figuratively \u2013 on the foundation established by a compact footprint. This post discusses the fine-grained details of blocks and individual development sites, the architecture of buildings and landscapes, and the configuration of streets and other public spaces.<\/p>\n

Design at this more granular level serves functional and aesthetics purposes. Functional considerations dictate how structures are built and how they connect to the sidewalks, streets, and spaces around them to facilitate movement, social interaction, and physical activity.\u00a0 Aesthetic aspects of design, along with the integration of arts and cultural elements, influence how streets, buildings, and spaces look and feel to create beauty and a sense of place. Arts and cultural practices touch every corner of life and are one of the most visible indicators of the social values and diversity of a place.<\/p>\n

Designing for cars: wide streets, dispersed buildings, and lots of parking<\/h3>\n

The Wedges and Corridors<\/a> plan envisioned a variety of living environments and encouraged \u201cimaginative urban design\u201d to avoid sterile suburban sprawl. Unfortunately, design approaches intended to serve many functional objectives and aesthetic aspirations soon succumbed to an emphasis on the convenience of driving and the assumption that different land uses, building types, and even lot sizes should be separated. Over time, these priorities produced design approaches that failed to create quality places with lasting value.
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    Despite the 1964 plan\u2019s recognition of the importance of urban design, a continued emphasis on facilitating driving has created unattractive built environments, even in areas with significant investments in transit infrastructure.<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
  • \"an
    Despite the 1964 plan\u2019s recognition of the importance of urban design, a continued emphasis on facilitating driving has created unattractive built environments, even in areas with significant investments in transit infrastructure.<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>Automobile-oriented design meant that thoughtful site arrangement was subverted by an insistence on providing abundant (and visually prominent) surface parking, with buildings placed in the middle of large asphalt lots or entrances and front doors obscured by driveways and garages. Buildings were disconnected from public spaces. Streets were widened, pushing buildings farther apart and preventing a sense of enclosure, which discouraged walking by making it less convenient and comfortable. Space for sidewalks, seating and greenery was sacrificed to make more space for parking and roads, shrinking the size and utility of public spaces and degrading the quality of the public realm.<\/p>\n