Page 15 - The City of Greensboro Conditions and Trends

CITY OF GREENSBORO COMPREHENSIVE PLAN CONDITIONS & TRENDS

Trends

Placemaking: Cities for People

The Trend

The Placemaking approach to creating vibrant communities with lasting appeal and value is a recognition of the importance
of designing places for people. People are drawn to places that offer: a range of features and qualities; a wide variety of
structured and spontaneous activities; and most importantly, the presence of other people. The Project for Public Spaces
(PPS) provides an extensive array of research and reference guides for advancing the Placemaking movement. According to
PPS, the key attributes of great places are simple and intuitive:
They are accessible and well connected to other important places in the area.
They are comfortable and project a good image.
They attract people to participate in activities there.
They are sociable environments in which people want to gather and visit again and again.

According to Geoff Anderson, former CEO of Smart Growth America, Millennials tend to choose the region and community
that offers their preferred lifestyle and array of amenities and then find work to support themselves once they have
relocated. This approach is in strong contrast with that of Baby Boomers or Gen X-ers, who have generally allowed their
employment situation to determine their options for places to live. Employers are realizing that in order to attract and
retain the best employees, they need to position themselves in cities that provide the best living environment. The
implication is that in the decades ahead, successful cities will recognize that in competing against other cities for market
share, their product is the quality of place they offer. High quality places grow wealth for people and generate public
revenue. Making great places for citizens improves livability, attracts jobs, and promotes prosperity.

Many cities are raising their standards for the quality of design and construction they approve, especially within prominent
areas, in order to promote the creation of an outstanding urban environment. Cities are increasingly recognizing the role
that design standards play in protecting property values. Basic design standards ensure that the mass, density, scale, and
orientation of structures are appropriate to their location within the urban fabric, and present a people-friendly
configuration. Mediocre design and cheap construction may be less expensive in the short term, but over the long term,
careful human-centered design and high quality construction hold enduring value in a community.
Background

In 1926, the Euclid v. Ambler case established the validity of zoning as a tool for cities to separate incompatible land uses
for the protection of public health, safety, and welfare. Separating use types from each other was the dominant approach
to regulating urban growth and development, which made traditional mixed-use development more difficult to finance,
approve, and build. Use of “Euclidean” zoning created cities and neighborhoods in which land uses are highly partitioned—
single-family housing here, retail there, schools over there, offices somewhere else. Over the last twenty years, the
improved quality of life associated with a finer-grained mix of uses has been a significant focus of planning literature and is
now considered to be one of the most important principles in creating a vibrant city.

DRAFT -15- March 15, 2018