Map 8: Future Built Form

Activity Centers:Ranging in size from a corner business at the intersection of two collector roads to regional shopping centers, activity centers attract people and are often the focus of community, civic, and social or commercial activity. Location, accessibility, size, and the extent and diversity of activities within an activity center influence the nature of economic development opportunities, potential impacts on nearby uses, and the way in which it is enjoyed by the community.
Corridors:Corridors are the linear commercial and office developments typically along collector or arterial roadways. They include properties directly fronting on the road and may include properties having primary access to or in immediate proximity to the road. The character and function of the road and the uses within a corridor are highly correlated.
Place Type:Much of Greensboro is composed of areas that have a consistency of character, identity, or purpose, and that are most often bounded by corridors, natural features, or parks, that create transition or separation from other neighborhoods that may not share the same characteristics. Understanding the underlying character is important to creating new growth that adds value. Place types can be predominantly residential, institutional, educational, industrial, or planned mixed-use.

The Future Built Form Map illustrates how areas of the City are envisioned to develop in ways that can help create a more desirable and sustainable Greensboro.

Areas were designated based on a variety of considerations including historic and current development conditions, the function of roadways that serve them, their overall location in the City, and other nearby land uses. In addition to the more universal development review considerations of the Future Land Use Map, the Future Built Form Map is used to identify more specific evaluations for each district.

Place Type designations:

  • Urban Core - This place type is Geensboro’s downtown, historically designed to be the center of town from which the growth and expansion of Greensboro radiates.
  • Urban Central - This place type has a base of mixed-use development and a more complete sidewalk network.
  • Urban General - This place type is the largest area of physical development of Greensboro, and occurred in the “post-WWII” period, reflecting the national trends in development patterns.

The Place Type designations help assure that this incremental growth fits in with and strengthens the existing context.

The Plan focuses most new growth into Activity Centers. Incremental growth is what will create the Greensboro that this plan envisions.

For more information, see Chapter 10, Map 8 in the GSO2040 Comprehensive Plan. 

 Map 7, Future Land UseMaps and ImplementationMap 1, Existing Built Form