Great Neighborhoods - How To Bring Them Home

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Great Neighborhoods: How to Bring Great Neighborhoods: How to Bring
them Home was made possible with funding them Home was made possible with funding
from Madison Gas & Electric, the Madison from Madison Gas & Electric, the Madison
Community Foundation, the Dane County Community Foundation, the Dane County
Better Urban Infill Development (BUILD) Better Urban Infill Development (BUILD)
program and 1000 Friends of Wisconsin. program and 1000 Friends of Wisconsin.
For additional copies or more information contact: For additional copies or more information contact:
Dane County Better Urban Infill Development Dane County Better Urban Infill Development
(BUILD) Program (BUILD) Program
210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard 210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard
Room 421 Room 421
Madison, WI 53703 Madison, WI 53703
(608) 261-9781 (608) 261-9781

cdbg@co.dane.wi.us cdbg@co.dane.wi.us
www.co.dane.wi.us/plandev/build/default.asp www.co.dane.wi.us/plandev/build/default.asp
or or
1000 Friends of Wisconsin 1000 Friends of Wisconsin

16 N. Carroll Street, Suite 810 16 N. Carroll Street, Suite 810
Madison, WI 53703 Madison, WI 53703
(608) 259-1000 (608) 259-1000

friends@1kfriends.org friends@1kfriends.org
www.1kfriends.org www.1kfriends.org
www.picturesmartgrowth.org www.picturesmartgrowth.org
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CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Great Neighborhoods: How to Bring them Home represents the culmination of efforts by
many people who contributed their time, energy, and resources toward the goal of making
Dane County neighborhoods the best they can be.
The generous contributions of Madison Gas and Electric, the Madison Community
Foundation, the Dane County BUILD program, and 1000 Friends of Wisconsin provided
the resources to design and print Great Neighborhoods. Without their substantial assistance,
the book would not have been possible.
Dane County teamed with 1000 Friends of Wisconsin to prepare the document and
coordinate its production. Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk identified the need to
promote Great Neighborhoods in her 2000 initiative, Farms and Neighborhoods: Keeping
Both Strong. In Farms and Neighborhoods, the County Executive recommended partnerships
and educational efforts to advance Great Neighborhoods.
Steve Steinhoff, staff to the Dane County Better Urban Infill Development (BUILD)
program, served as the principal author and coordinator of the Great Neighborhood project.
Hal Cohen, previously Planning Director with 1000 Friends also contributed a significant
amount of writing to the book, especially adding his journalistic skills towards making
it readable. Other 1000 Friends staff, Nick Lelack, Andrea Dearlove, and Kevin Pomeroy
also made significant contributions towards securing resources, editing, and coordinating
production and input. Special thanks to Bridget Gavaghan, Program Director, Lydia
Morken, Program Director and Brian Murray, Art Director, of Sustain for their patience,
support and graphic design.
The Great Neighborhood Advisory Panel met several times and provided valuable feedback
and guidance to the Great Neighborhood project. Advisory Panel members were: Rick
Bernstein, Susan Fox, Peter Frautschi, Wendy Hecht, Lynn Hobbie, Tom Keller, Eileen Kelly,
Joanne Kelly, Rebecca Krantz, Jim LaGro, Cora Merritt, Brian Munson, Jean Neilson, Rita
Odegaard, Amy Overby, Rick Roll, Arthur Ross, Gary Slaats, Chuck Strawser, Hanah Jon
Taylor, Phyllis Wilhelm, and Cheryl Wittke.
A number of people around Dane County contributed their time to review and comment
on a draft copy of Great Neighborhoods. The reviewers, whose substantive feedback and
suggestions helped improve the final book, were: Steve Arnold, Richard Bloomquist, Ken
Brost, Abe Degnan, Judy Ewald, Mike Goetz, Joe Goss, Troy Haines, Ed Kinney, Kurt Kniess,
Duke Mihajlovic, John Obst, Andrew Potts, Luke Rollins, Sue Studz, Howard Teal, and
Connie White.
Finally, members of the Great Neighborhood Subcommittee (to the Dane County Citizen
Land Use Commission, which operated in 2001) provided guidance and recommendations,
to the Dane County Executive and the Dane County BUILD program, which helped launch
the Great Neighborhood project. Great Neighborhood Subcommittee members were:
Darren Kittleson, Rob Kennedy, Dave Simon, Susan King, David Grove, Supervisory Dennis
O’Loughlin, David Kruger, Mike Slavney, and Kevin Pomeroy.
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INTRODUCTION ...4
CHAPTER 1: WHY GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS? ...7

Great Neighborhoods Lower Public Costs ...8
Great Neighborhoods Meet the Needs Of All Dane County Citizens ...8
Great Neighborhoods Give People Transportation Choices ...9
Great Neighborhoods Promote Healthy Lifestyles ...10
Great Neighborhoods Preserve Land and Natural Resources ...11
Great Neighborhoods Promote Civic Spaces and Social Interactions ...11
Great Neighborhoods Support Efficient Use of Energy ...12
CHAPTER 2: PEOPLE AND THEIR HOMES ...14

Dane County is Diverse ...15
Dane County Housing Demand: Three Case Studies ...16
A Diverse Population Needs Different Types of Housing ...17
Future Demographic and Housing Trends ...21
CHAPTER 3: A NEIGHBORHOOD IS MORE THAN HOMES: PLACES TO

WORK, PLAY, SHOP, LEARN, AND GATHER ...23
Great Neighborhoods Provide Places to Gather ...24
Places to Shop (And Dine, and Be Entertained) ...26
Places to Work ...28
Places to Learn ...29
Natural Areas ...30
The Neighborhood as a Part of the Region ...31
CHAPTER 4: FITTING THE PIECES TOGETHER ...33

Neighborhood Form ...34
Streets: The Bones of the Neighborhood ...36
Neighborhood Elements: Relating to the Street ...40
CHAPTER 5: MODERN LAND DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS – HOW WE GOT

HERE & THE RULES THAT GUIDE DEVELOPMENT NOW ...44
Land Development in Post-War America ...45
Codifying New Growth Patterns: The “Rules” Of Development ...47
Traditional Neighborhood Developments ...49
CHAPTER 6: MAKING GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS HAPPEN – IT TAKES

EVERYONE WORKING TOGETHER ...52
The Deal-Makers: What’s in it for Developers, Builders, Financiers, and Realtors? ...53
Getting Public Officials on Board ...54
Great Neighborhoods and Comprehensive Planning ...55
Participation in Local Planning and Development Issues ...56
Making Communities More Walkable ...56
Getting Local Groups Involved ...57
Appendix A: Energy Efficiency for Great Neighborhoods ...60
Appendix B: Renewable Energy for Great Neighborhoods ...65
Great Neighborhoods Glossary ...69
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Dear Neighbor:
I am very pleased to introduce Great Neighborhoods: How to Bring them Home.
All Dane County communities work hard to preserve, as we grow, the things that make
our county a great place to live. We all want to use our land wisely and efficiently, and to
preserve our environmental and agricultural heritage. We want healthy neighborhoods
where we can walk and bike as part of our daily lives. We want neighborhoods where our
family and friends of different ages and backgrounds can also be our neighbors.
In 2000 I issued my report, Farms and Neighborhoods: Keeping Both Strong. Farms and
Neighborhoods recognized that, to keep Dane County such a wonderful place, we have
to preserve farming, and we have to have great neighborhoods where people want to
live, work, shop, recreate, and more. In Farms and Neighborhoods, I proposed launching
an educational campaign to demonstrate the benefits of “great” neighborhoods. Dane
County has been privileged to work with 1000 Friends of Wisconsin to launch that
campaign with the release of Great Neighborhoods: How to Bring them Home.
Great Neighborhoods: How to Bring them Home aims to make our job of creating great
neighborhoods at least a little easier by giving you a better understanding of why
they make sense, what makes them work and how we can build them again. Great
Neighborhoods describes the different parts that make up neighborhoods, and how they fit
together to make them walkable, diverse, safe and attractive. It explains how we forgot the
lessons of great neighborhoods that once were common knowledge, and how we can work
together to improve existing neighborhoods and build new great neighborhoods.
It is my strong hope that Great Neighborhoods: How to Bring them Home will help you in
your efforts to make great neighborhoods in Dane County. Thank you for taking the time
to learn from this book, and for your commitment to great neighborhoods.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Falk
Dane County Executive

INTRODUCTION
Over the past half-century, we Americans have experienced incredible transformations in
how we live – many of them for the better. But not all.
Before World War II, the typical way of organizing cities and suburbs in America was by
neighborhoods. Since then, developments have been very different: spread out, automobile-
dependent, and designed only for a single use. We forgot what it means to build a
neighborhood – a place that is more than the sum of its houses. Not only did we forgot how
to build neighborhoods, we have also lost track of what they had to offer. The “American
Dream” – a nice, safe place where you can feel at home and raise a family – is supposedly not
to be found in a neighborhood at all, but exclusively in a large house on a large lot among
other same-sized houses.
Of course, America’s neighborhoods never really went away. Many of those who stayed
in cities despite the migration to the suburbs in the 1950s and ‘60s worked diligently to
preserve and enhance their neighborhoods. Since the 1970s, they have been joined by people
returning to neighborhood living – a trickle at first, and now a river that sometimes exceeds
urban housing supply. And in the 1990s, two complimentary trends emerged: one, patching
the holes in old urban neighborhoods with new “in-fill” projects that responded to their
urban context; and two, creating new “traditional neighborhoods” from scratch, typically at
the edge of cities and suburbs.
The essential quality shared by all of these places – the traditional and the neo-traditional,
the centrally located and the peripherally located, the maintained, the restored, and the
newly constructed – is their “neighborhood-ness.” They all have the qualities that make
them “Great Neighborhoods.” They are diverse, walkable, compact, safe, urbane, vibrant,
and attractive.
This handbook will explore what makes Great Neighborhoods work, who prefers them
and why, and what barriers exist to creating and reviving them. In short: how we can
make them happen.

WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR
Great Neighborhoods: How to Bring them Home is a resource book for people who want to
improve existing neighborhoods and to create great new neighborhoods.
We used to create walkable, diverse, safe and attractive – or great – neighborhoods as

a matter of course. These are now referred to as “traditional” neighborhoods. But in
the last 50 years or so, we changed how we built our communities, and forgot many of
those neighborhood-building lessons. More recently, a growing number of people are
rediscovering the value of traditional, or great neighborhood design, and are searching for
the knowledge and tools to get back to designing great neighborhoods.
This book is for you if:

• You have heard about traditional, or great, neighborhood design and
development, and want to learn more.

• You are a citizen who is concerned about making your neighborhoods and
community walkable, safe and attractive for all residents.

• You are an elected or appointed decision-maker in your community and you want to
expand your base of knowledge about neighborhood design.

• You are active in the neighborhood development business and are looking for
knowledge and tools to make better neighborhoods.
GETTING THE MOST FROM GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS

Great Neighborhoods: How to Bring them Home is structured to meet the needs of a range
of readers: from those new to great neighborhood concepts, to those who work with
neighborhood development issues on a regular basis.
Great Neighborhoods uses a variety of illustrative and navigational guides to help the reader
find the contents that best meet their needs. Each chapter starts with a brief highlight of its
contents and ends with a brief summary. The book uses pictures and graphics to illustrate
and emphasize concepts. Descriptive section titles and text boxes serve as guides to chapter
contents and main points.
The chapters are organized to provide increasing levels of details. Chapter 1, Why Great
Neighborhoods?, discusses why great neighborhoods are important. It describes how great
neighborhoods lower public costs, increase housing and transportation choices; enable
healthy lifestyles and environment; and build social connections and strong communities.
If you are new to the concepts of great neighborhoods, you may want to jump from Chapter
1 to the summaries, pictures, and call-out boxes of other chapters. This approach will give
you the big picture from which you can target your exploration according to your interests.
Neighborhoods are for people. So, rather than start by talking about streets and buildings,
dimensions and densities, Great Neighborhoods starts Chapter 2 by discussing the people of
Dane County. People and Their Homes, shows that we are a diverse community, and have a
wide range of housing needs and desires. It shows how great neighborhoods accommodate
housing types to meet those needs and desires.

As the title to Chapter 3 implies, A Neighborhood is More than Homes: Places to Work, Play,
Shop, Learn and Gather. Chapter 3 describes the neighborhood parts other than homes, and
how they can fit into neighborhoods.
To understand great neighborhood design we have to know more than the different pieces;
we have to know how to link them together. Chapter 4, Fitting the Pieces Together to Form a
Neighborhood, discusses how walkable distances shape the optimal size of neighborhoods,
how streets provide the skeletal and circulatory structure of a neighborhood, and how the
buildings and open spaces work together and with streets to make great neighborhoods.
While chapters 2 – 4 give details about three dimensions of neighborhood design, Chapter 5
discusses the fourth dimension: time and the recent history of neighborhood development.
Chapter 5, Modern Land Development Patterns – How we got Here and the Rules that Guide
Development Now, explains historical factors that changed the way developments were built
after World War II. It discusses the rise of the automobile, federal programs such as creation
of secondary mortgage markets and construction of interstate highway systems, and private
policies such as exclusion of city neighborhoods from mortgage lending. It explains how
land use rules – or codes – were created to perpetuate this form of development. (If you are
the type of person who needs historical context before delving into design details, you may
want to jump ahead to this chapter.)
After the first 5 chapters, you have a good idea how to create great neighborhoods, how we
got away from these practices, and the barriers, such as land use codes, that stand in the way
of creating more great neighborhoods. Chapter 6, Making Great Neighborhoods Happen:
It Takes Everyone Working Together, how we can get back to making great neighborhoods.
It discusses how citizens, public officials, developers, realtors, financiers and other all
have a role to play, and all have to work together. It describes tools, such as Traditional
Neighborhood Zoning Ordinances, that can make great neighborhoods easier to build.

1
CHAPTER 1: WHY GREAT
NEIGHBORHOODS?

GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS LOWER PUBLIC COSTS
Infrastructure makes modern life possible – it may be unromantic, but it’s true. We could
not go on living our normal lives without roads, water, sewer, trash removal, snow plowing,
police and fire protection, or schools. Each of these costs money, and they are typically
funded with local money, generated from local property taxes.
The costs of infrastructure and community services are not fixed, however. The level of expense
depends on how suitably different developments relate to one another, how well the buildings
within a given development are laid out, and – above all – how far from each other they are located.
If you are providing water to 100 families, you’ll need to provide 100 faucets; but if they each live
on two acres you’ll need a lot more pipe than if they all live in an apartment building. One survey
of costs of community services estimated that public savings from Great Neighborhoods-type
developments could be $10,000 for a single-family house.1 Research has found that development
patterns that consume less land can lower public costs from 5 to 75 percent.2
Great Neighborhoods reduce the costs of

infrastructure and community services in
various ways. Existing Great Neighborhoods
that are maintained, rehabilitated, or
retrofitted already have roads and utility
networks. Most new infill projects within
these existing neighborhoods also require
low levels of public investments for
infrastructure. New Great Neighborhoods
do require new public expenditures, but
because such neighborhoods are compact,
there is less distance between dwellings, thus
decreasing costs to property taxpayers in
comparison to conventional subdivisions.
A pleasing side effect of reducing

infrastructure costs is that housing becomes
more affordable. Many municipalities require
Quality, accessible housing that is built on vacant neighborhood land in developers to pay for the cost of public
Madison, uses existing infrastructure instead of new roads and utility lines.
improvements. Developers pass these costs
on to consumers, raising the selling price. Lowering the cost of infrastructure can reduce the
cost of new housing.
GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS MEET THE NEEDS OF ALL

DANE COUNTY CITIZENS
From Leave it to Beaver through The Brady Bunch through Everybody Loves Raymond, the
American Dream (as seen through the prism of pop culture) has often been portrayed as
owning a big single-family house, set on a large lawn, with two cars and a garage to park
them in. Certainly, for many families – particularly many married couples with school-age
children who live at home – this ideal may be the preferred housing option. But it would be
a mistake to assume that the housing preferences of one relatively small demographic group
represent the entire population’s desires.

In fact, the vast majority of Dane County households in the year 2000 – more than
three in four – were something other than married couples with children at home.3
Most of Dane County’s population is composed of singles, couples without children,
empty nesters, and retirees, and they
each have very different housing needs
and desires from those traditional
nuclear families. Their “American
Dreams” come in a wide array of sizes,
locations, and configurations. (In
other words, we should remember that
The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Cosby
Show, and Friends express equally valid
American Dreams).
Great Neighborhoods – both new and

historic – can comfortably contain a wide
range of housing types. Single-family,
duplex, townhouse, and multi-family
structures can all comfortably co-exist in
the same neighborhood. Furthermore,
because Great Neighborhoods offer
a high level of visual and structural
variety, they make mixing rental with
owner-occupied properties viable. Such
mixes of housing types and ownership Closely spaced, historic homes front an attractive street on Madison’s East Side.
arrangements allow people of different Here, this neighborhood feel creates a welcoming space for an event that area
ages, incomes, and family types to live in schoolchildren have organized to benefit a school orchestra program.
the same neighborhood. Which is to say,

Great Neighborhoods foster diversity
and vitality.
GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS GIVE

PEOPLE TRANSPORTATION CHOICES
Today, both revitalized old
neighborhoods and new ones are
designed with an understanding
that people need and want cars.
Great Neighborhoods differ from
conventional developments since they
allow for the personal mobility that Town homes in Midtown Commons, a new Great Neighborhood on the
the car offers, without removing all southwest side of Madison. Condos are becoming increasingly popular not only
with working adults, but also with retirees – who travel frequently and do not
other transportation options, making want to worry about yard maintenance and snow removal.
us solely dependent on our cars. Great
Neighborhoods are designed to make walking, biking, transit, and the car all viable, so that
each can be used when appropriate: no one would choose to walk, bike, or ride a bus to the
plumbing store in order to buy a bathtub, but by the same token, no one should have to get in
the car just to buy a cup of coffee and the morning paper, or to take the dog to the park.

In Great Neighborhoods, many of the trips
people regularly make – shopping, dining
out, playing in a park, or visiting friends –
involve relatively short distances, and can be
made on foot or by bicycle. This is by design.
Furthermore, Great Neighborhoods make
these non-car modes yet more appealing
by creating pleasant, safe, and direct travel
routes: attractive streets, short blocks, and
accessible sidewalks.
Great Neighborhoods also make transit service

more viable. Because of their compactness,
they put more people within an easy walk of
bus (or rail) stops. In addition, most Great
Neighborhoods are designed to get denser
toward their centers, locating duplexes,
townhouses, and multi-family dwellings near
the heart of the district. This sort of landscape
creates natural nodes and spines for transit
service. Altogether, these features mean that
transit operators can run their vehicles over
Bicycling along pleasant streets is an appealing – and practical – way shorter distances (lowering costs), with more
to get around well-designed neighborhoods. passengers (raising revenues).
Evidence clearly shows that people will drive less if they live in more compact
neighborhoods with transportation choices and walkable destinations.4 Replacing even a
small number of car trips with walking, bicycling, or transit can reduce traffic congestion
and pollution, and can enhance public health.
GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS PROMOTE HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

Along with diet, inactivity is the major cause of rising levels of obesity in America. Certainly,
individuals must take some responsibility for their level of physical activity (or lack thereof),
but the physical environment frames their
choices. In places where the car is the only
real option for getting around, people do not
walk much, and therefore are more prone to
obesity and associated health problems.
Recent research documented – for the first

time – the correlation between the type of place
people live in and their activity levels, weight,
and health.5 After controlling for age, education,
gender, race, and other factors, the study found
that people living in dispersed, conventional
developments are likely to walk less, weigh more,
and suffer from hypertension more than people
who live in more compact neighborhoods.
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GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS PRESERVE LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Because they are less dispersed than conventional subdivisions, Great Neighborhoods
consume less land. That means that they leave more land for other things, such as preserving
wetlands, viewsheds, woodlands, or other natural or scenic features. These natural areas can
serve any number of purposes, some with direct benefits to the neighborhood, others with
broader benefits.
For example, wetlands, forests, and prairies are natural water purifiers. They can capture
stormwater, recharge aquifers, clean runoff, and prevent flooding. Areas of wildness can also
provide critical wildlife habitat – especially if linked to a larger network of environmental
corridors – and they afford areas for passive recreation.
GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS
PROMOTE CIVIC SPACES AND
SOCIAL INTERACTIONS
Open spaces in Great Neighborhoods
are consciously created as civic places.
They become organizing features
of neighborhood design, helping to
determine the location and orientation
of homes and businesses, and helping
to determine how people will move
around their neighborhood. Great
Neighborhoods’ open spaces are where
residents play, gather, meet, and relax
– together.
While many Great Neighborhoods offer

residents and owners private backyards,
these tend to be less expansive than in a Middleton Hills (in the City of Middleton) is a local example of a Great
conventional subdivision. Instead, Great Neighborhood that preserved key natural features in its midst. This compact
Neighborhoods favor the front side of new development preserved a wetland within the neighborhood.
the house, where the public realm meets
the private, as the place to relax, play
with the kids or pets, or just watch the
neighbors walk by.
Great Neighborhoods also integrate

plazas, vest-pocket parks, and other
small open spaces within easy walking
distance of homes. The homes and
businesses that face these civic spaces
allow neighbors to keep an eye on things,
which increases both the perception
and the reality of a safe and secure
environment. These neighborhoods also
feature sidewalks and on-street parking, Public spaces bind neighborhoods together. Here, an Independence Day
which allow local parks to accommodate celebration at a neighborhood park in Madison.
11

festivals and gatherings (whether organized or impromptu) without the need for vast areas
of surface parking. Finally, most Great Neighborhoods – both old and new – have access to
larger parks with play fields or natural areas. Such larger-scale parks are frequently located
on the edge of neighborhoods, where they can serve several areas at once.
GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS SUPPORT EFFICIENT USE OF ENERGY

There is a growing demand for Great Neighborhoods that use resources and energy
efficiently for long-term sustainability. Decisions made when building a new home or
addition, remodeling an existing home, or selecting products have a lasting impact on the
environment and livability of our homes and neighborhoods.
Energy Efficiency
Proper design for energy efficient buildings
combines appropriate building placement,
optimal insulation, a sealed building
envelope, and balanced ventilation in
order to conserve energy, improve the
health and comfort of the occupants, and
reduce operating costs. When selecting
appliances and lighting fixtures choose high
efficiency models and look for the Energy
Star label. Whether for new construction or
remodeling, energy efficient methods and
design make for more affordable housing
that contributes to healthy and vibrant
neighborhoods. Because energy costs are
lower, a greater number of people can afford
to purchase homes and create a sense of
“ownership” in the neighborhood. Reduced
energy use also means less environmental
impact from the burning of fossil fuels.
Ultimately, these savings contribute to a healthier economy, a cleaner environment, and an
improved quality of life. Please look at the “Energy Efficiency for Great Neighborhoods”
appendix for more information.
Renewable Energy
Renewable energy such as solar hot water heating, wind and photovoltaics can be
incorporated into the mix to achieve long-term sustainability. Placing small renewable
power systems in residential and business settings--where the energy is needed and
used--can help reduce the need for new or upgraded central power plants and electricity
transmission systems. By incorporating “neighborhood renewables” into the generating mix,
residents can help contribute to the long-term sustainability of their neighbors.
Investing in locally available renewable energy sources such as solar (for water heating and
generating electricity), wind power, biomass and geothermal energy have environmental
as well as economic benefits. While these options are currently more expensive than fossil
12

fuels, they reduce dependence on non-local energy sources, keep energy dollars in the
community and reduce air emissions related to acid rain and global warming. Please look at
the “Renewable Energy in Great Neighborhoods” appendix for more information.
IN SHORT …
“Great Neighborhood” is a term that describes a set of qualities that serve to make a
neighborhood a place, not merely a scattering of residences. It describes a way of building
places that was taken for granted before the Second World War, but has since been
supplanted by low-density, auto-dependent developments.
Great Neighborhoods have a diversity of housing types, and thus a diversity of kinds of
people. Such places use civic spaces as organizing principles, balancing the private and public
realms. They allow transportation choices – serving pedestrians, bikers, and transit, as well as
cars. They take up less land, allowing the preservation of natural and scenic amenities. They
promote more active, healthier lifestyles. And because they reduce infrastructure and service
costs for both new residents and existing property-taxpayers, Great Neighborhoods are more
efficient than conventional developments from a fiscal standpoint.
13

2
CHAPTER 2: PEOPLE
AND THEIR HOMES

DANE COUNTY IS DIVERSE
The 426,000 people who live in Dane County6 are – in a word – diverse. There are
people of all ages and families of every shape, and they have a wide range of housing
needs and preferences.
Today, about 30 percent of Dane County households are singles and young couples, about
45 percent are families with children, and the remaining 25 percent are empty nesters and
retirees. As time goes by, these groups of people who are at the same age and life stage grow
older together, and as they do their housing needs and preferences change, as does their
ability to afford different options.
By thinking about these

different groups and the types
of housing they prefer, we can
create a more accurate picture
of what kind of housing
demand really exists in Dane
County, and then we can start
thinking about how to build
neighborhoods that can meet
those needs and preferences. Figure 1: Dane County Households: 2000
Singles and Young Couples

About 45,000 households in Dane County – roughly one-third of the total – are singles or
young couples. Because they are students or people who are just starting out on their own,
they typically have not accumulated much personal wealth. For this reason, the majority of
them – about three out of four – are renters, not owners. Therefore, they typically prefer to
live in multi-family buildings such as duplexes or apartment buildings. They – and other
young professionals – are also the primary market for the rising number of new downtown
and neighborhood condominiums and apartments.
Families
About 75,000 households in Dane County
are families of one kind or another,
representing 43 percent of all households.
This group is the most likely to manifest
the “average” housing preference: a single-
family, detached house.
Families with younger children are

typically early in their career, and they
prefer affordable living spaces. For about
70 percent of young families, this will
mean a small, single-family starter home.
The financial and housing needs of the
remaining 30 percent are better served by
rental housing. As the group matures and
the families grow (in terms of number
of children, size of children, and square-
A younger family in front of their rental home in a two-flat building.
15

footage of rooms required), families who own homes will typically search for a larger house,
often on a larger lot. Similarly, renters in the same situation will usually either look for larger
apartments or seek to become homeowners, depending on their preference and financial ability.
Empty Nesters and Retirees

Eventually, school-children become teens,
and then they grow up and move out, taking
their place in the housing market as singles
and young couples. Their parents, meanwhile,
are left with an entire family’s-worth of extra
space for just them. These families have
become popularly known as “empty nesters.”
Within a few years, most empty nesters
mature into another role: retirees. About one-
quarter of Dane County households – 44,000
– are empty nesters or retirees.
Children leaving home and retirement

brings leisure-time that had previously
been taken up by family and work, and
many empty nesters and retirees are eager
to take advantage of it. By this age, those who own are typically carrying less and less – if any
– mortgage debt. Some choose to spend their leisure-time at home and age in place. Others
may retire to a leisure home, conveniently located to golf, hunting, fishing, or other activities.
But a significant and growing number of empty nesters and retirees seek to fill their new free
time with shopping, parks, cultural activities, and entertainment – urban amenities. These
people will gladly downsize from the unneeded square-footage of their often-suburban
houses to more centrally located residences: a smaller detached home, a townhouse, a
downtown flat, or a so-called “granny flat” behind someone’s primary residence. Empty
nesters and retirees are highly likely to own their home or condominium.
DANE COUNTY HOUSING DEMAND: THREE CASE STUDIES

In 2002, Dane County hired a consultant8 to study the potential housing market in
Fitchburg, Mount Horeb, and Roxbury. The market analyses for these three very different
places demonstrate the range of housing needs and preferences in Dane County, and dispel
the myth that the only viable housing market is for detached, single-family housing.
Suburban Fitchburg’s proposed development was for the “Green Technology Village,” a
mixed neighborhood of office, homes, and retail on 640 acres. Small-town Mount Horeb
was considering a new residential neighborhood called “Horeb’s Corners” on 134 acres. And
rural Roxbury was exploring the potential to expand its historic town center, using Great
Neighborhoods principles to maintain its historic character.
Housing Demand, by Household Type

Using 2000 Census data reflecting in- and out-migration to Dane County and frequency
of moves within the county, the consultants broke down potential housing demand for the
three potential Great Neighborhoods developments by household type.
16

A DIVERSE POPULATION NEEDS
DIFFERENT TYPES OF HOUSING
WHERE WE LIVE
As we’ve seen, the various household
groups in Dane County share certain
housing needs and preferences. There
are many different housing types to meet
their demands.
Single-Family Houses
Single-family houses have separate
entrances, but can either be stand-alone
buildings (detached) or grouped side by
side (attached) such as townhouses. A smaller single-family home in Madison.
Single-family detached houses are

the most common form of housing in
Dane County. Great Neighborhoods
accommodate a wide range of single-
family house sizes. While the average
single-family detached house and its
lot has grown significantly in size in
recent decades, there is a place in a great
neighborhood for both small and large
single-family houses. Lot sizes can range
from about 40 to 60 feet in width. Lot
widths significantly greater than 60
feet start to erode the workability of a
neighborhood by increasing distances A detached single-family home in Cambridge, WI.
between homes and other destinations.
Great Neighborhoods typically
accommodate larger homes and lots on
their edges.
Townhouses (also called town homes or

row houses) are forms of single-family
homes – usually two or three stories
tall – that are built in groups that all
line up facing the street. Sometimes
townhouses are actually all one long
building articulated to look like a row of
distinct structures; sometimes they are
distinct buildings that share party walls in
between; sometimes they are free-standing
Rowhouses on Madison’s Isthmus.
structures set right on the lot line, with
no space in between; and sometimes they are free-standing structures with narrow walk- or
driveways separating them.
17
1kf guts prep.indd 17 3/3/06 6:42:24 AM

Townhouses are typically about 20 to 35 feet wide, and 50 to 70 feet deep, depending upon
lot sizes. They often have small private backyards with patios or decks, and they often have
a front porch or stoop, though generally they have very small front yards (or none at all).
Because of their small yards, such homes appeal most often to households without school-
age children: empty nesters, retirees, singles, or couples without children or with very young
children. Town homes and row houses are
usually found closer to the amenities located
in commercial and civic districts. They are
typically owner-occupied.
Duplexes, Two- and Three-flats fall between

single-family housing and multi-family
housing. Some of these are stand-alone
structures that are intended for more than
one household to occupy, but that are usually
designed to look like a single-family house. A
single structure with two side-by-side units,
both with street-level entrances, is usually
referred to as a “duplex,” while a similar
Mansion apartment buildings blend in well on streetscapes dominated by
detached, single-family houses. structure that has several units stacked one
on top of the other is known as a “two-flat”
or a “three-flat” (depending on the number of
units). Their total dimensions are comparable
to fairly large single-family houses. Two- and
three-flats are a particularly common housing
type in many cities in the Upper Midwest
and often this arrangement helps to provide
an extra income stream to the owners,
potentially giving opportunities for a family
that could not otherwise afford to own their
own home.
Apartment Buildings
Apartment buildings come in a wide range
of sizes and shapes, but have the common
trait of sharing a common entrance. They
Yahara River View Apartments in Madison.
provide housing choices for empty nesters,
retirees, and families, as well as younger
singles and couples and best meets the needs
and preferences of many in the Dane County
housing market.
Other Innovative (Yet Traditional)

Housing Options can cater to niche housing
preferences. One type of attached housing
that combines living with working space is
the “live/work” unit. Live/work units allow a
resident – usually self-employed – to operate
a business in the same building in which they
Live-work units in Middleton Hills, Middleton, WI.
18

live. Typically, the living area is above or
behind the business. Combining living and
working space in the same building allows
people to eliminate commuting time, and
to share office and home costs. Artists’
lofts – in which there is no permanent
barrier between living and working
spaces – are a variation on this housing
type. Live/work arrangements work best
for offices or service businesses, and
particularly for Internet-based business.
Still another form of housing that meets

the needs of some single people – older
or younger – are accessory dwelling
units, commonly called “granny flats” Accessory dwelling unit in Madison.
or carriage houses. These are additional
residential units on what would otherwise
be a single-family lot. The units can be
above a garage or boathouse, in a pool-
house, or in a separate building facing an
alley. Accessory dwelling units can raise
the residential density in a neighborhood
without affecting its visual character much
at all. The accessory units themselves also
provide affordable housing opportunities
in areas that might otherwise be too
expensive, and they give extra income to
homeowners who might otherwise not be
able to afford their own homes.
While many different types of housing

are found in Great Neighborhoods, they A mixed-use building in downtown Stoughton, featuring apartments above
share a common trait. They all face, and are storefronts.
oriented towards, the street. The buildings are set relatively close to the street: far enough to
ensure privacy and close enough to help make the street an attractive, welcoming place. They
all have garages or parking provisions in the rear or, if that is not possible, on the side. The
orientation of great neighborhood buildings will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 4.
• Dane County Households • Dane County Diverse Housing Types

OWN
• Young Singles and Couples (31%) (58%) • Single-family Detached (59%)
• Families (34%) RENT • Townhomes

(42%)
• Empty Nesters and Retirees (25%) • Duplex
• Flats (2-, 3-, and 4-Flats)
• Mansion Apartments
• Apartment Buildings
• Live-Work Units
• Granny Flats (or Accessory Dwelling Units)
19

Figure 2: Potential Demand for Housing
in Three Dane County Great Neighborhoods
The results (Figure 2) demonstrate that the profiles of household type vary considerably from
community to community. In Fitchburg, proximity to Madison and the more urban character of
the proposed development tipped the projected housing market toward non-family households
– less than half of demand was expected to come from families, and 40 percent was forecasted
to be from younger singles and families. In the outlying village of Mount Horeb, on the other
hand, families were expected to play a much larger role: they were forecasted to comprise about
60 percent of housing demand, with empty nesters and retirees accounting for about 25 percent
of housing demand, and singles and young couples only about 15 percent. In rural Roxbury,
virtually all of the housing demand was expected to come from families.
Housing Preference, by Household Type

The consultants then used nationwide marketing resources that employ very fine-grained
demographic data to group consumers and describe their preferences for various housing
types. Overlaying the local specifics described above with this data, the consultants were able
to project housing demand, by type, for each of the three study locations (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Predicted Demand by Household Types for

Three Proposed Great Neighborhoods
20

These three case studies demonstrate the demand for a variety of housing types in Dane
County. In Fitchburg almost half of the estimated demand for housing at the study site
would be best met by multi-family and attached single-family homes, and almost a third of
the demand could best be met through rental housing. Even in Roxbury, where more than
nine out of ten households seeking housing will be families, a quarter of housing demand
would be best met by non-“average” housing types, such as townhouses or apartments
above storefronts.
In all three locations, the average housing typically found in conventional suburban
subdivisions – mid- to high-priced, single-family, detached homes – represent only a third
of the expected demand. That means that typical developments often exclude a sizable
portion of the market. Or, put another way, typical developments that feature exclusively
larger single-family homes miss about two-thirds of the potential market.
Many of the empty nesters and retirees looking to downsize would not find housing in
many typical developments comprised of the average house. Nor would singles or couples
working at jobs with modest pay – a category that includes not only most entry-level and
service jobs, but also many school teachers, police officers, and fire fighters.
FUTURE DEMOGRAPHIC AND HOUSING TRENDS

People do not stay the same age. They get older. Today, this means that the baby boomers are
transitioning from the “family” category into being “empty nesters and retirees.” As a result,
between now and 2020, the number of empty nesters and retirees will nearly double in Dane
County, to about 80,000. If current rates of growth continue, by 2020 empty nesters and
retirees will account for 37 percent (up from 25 percent) of all households.
During the same period, the portion represented by families is predicted to shrink from 43
to 34 percent of households; and the number of younger singles and couples will likely hold
fairly steady, dropping from 31 to 29 percent.
Figure 4: Dane County Household Growth Projections
Predicted demographic shifts will significantly alter housing demand in Dane County.
Demand for the detached, single-family homes popular among families will level out, while
housing appealing to households without children will increase significantly. Small single-
21

family homes, duplexes, townhouses, row houses and multi-family buildings will continue
to gain in popularity.
Demand will also increase for housing that is located in neighborhoods that provide
pleasant streets and amenities like parks and shopping within walking and biking distance.
According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2002, “Areas with
sensible zoning (integrating commercial, retail, and residential), parks, and street-grids
with sidewalks” will “hold value better in down-cycles and appreciate more in up-cycles”
than “places oriented to disconnected cul-de-sac subdivisions and shopping strips.”
IN SHORT …
Conventional subdivisions built after WWII typically offer consumers a fairly narrow range
of housing choices; mostly mid to large size single-family homes. Following the Second
World War, when more of the American population was made up of families with children,
perhaps this made sense. But we are more diverse now than we were then – families make
up less than half of our households, and many of these families are “non-traditional.” The
diversifying trend will accelerate as the baby boomers become empty nesters and retire, and
the proportion of the population represented by families drops.
Great Neighborhoods are the best way to provide the range of housing types needed to meet
the needs of this growing diversity.
22

3
CHAPTER 3:
A NEIGHBORHOOD IS
MORE THAN HOMES:
PLACES TO WORK, PLAY,
SHOP, LEARN AND GATHER

Homes provide the basic element of Great Neighborhoods – they are the private realm,
where people live. What sets Great Neighborhoods apart is the stuff that lies between the
homes, and what this offers the people who live in them.
All of the qualities that we think of as defining a neighborhood are embodied in the
connections that link private homes and their residents together. These connections take
many forms: some of them occur in the public realm, some in the private realm, and some
in the “in-between” spaces. They include streets, parks, shopping areas, work locations,
churches, schools, natural areas, and more. If housing comprises the bricks of Great
Neighborhoods, then these connecting spaces are the mortar.
GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS PROVIDE PLACES TO GATHER

Public gatherings, chance encounters, social networks – these make Great Neighborhoods
more than just the sum of their houses. These interactions provide the building blocks for
civil society. For these things to happen, Great Neighborhoods need to provide places for
people to gather and encounter others.
Streets
Of all public spaces, streets are perhaps the most important – and the most easily
overlooked. We have become accustomed to concieving of streets as concrete conduits for
moving cars. But in Great Neighborhoods, both new and historic, streets are the public
spaces par excellence.
As a rule, the largest percentage of public space in any neighborhood is composed of its
streets. Here in Dane County’s cities and villages, nearly 25 percent of all the land area
consists of street right-of-way; streets in Dane County occupy more than twice as much
land as outdoor recreation areas.9
Streets in Great Neighborhoods’ are

designed as much for pedestrians and
bicyclists as for cars – they are “people-
scaled.” Typically, these streets are lined
with trees or other landscaping, and they
are almost always flanked by sidewalks,
creating spaces that are safe and inviting for
pedestrians and bicyclists.
Great Neighborhoods’ streets are also laid

out to connect frequent destinations over
short distances. Unlike the typical subdivision
street system, in which all small local roads
feed into large arterials designed around the
needs of the car (compromising safe passage
for pedestrians and bicyclists), in Great
Neighborhoods a network of interconnected
streets and sidewalks makes it easy to walk
Great Neighborhoods’ streets, like this one near Monona Bay in Madison, to destinations – parks, schools, local stores,
provide spaces for neighbors to gather and socialize. or neighbors’ houses – or simply to wander
about for the pleasure of it, perhaps with
24

stroller or dog in tow. Great Neighborhoods also encourage walking with safe pedestrian
crosswalks. While walking, pedestrians are likely to encounter other people out walking, or stop
to chat with neighbors in front of their homes. These spontaneous encounters are the defining
characteristics of civic life.
Parks and Other Public Spaces

Great Neighborhoods also provide spaces where parents, children, dog walkers, and
others can congregate to play, socialize, and relax. These include “vest-pocket” parks that
might occupy only as much land as a single house-lot, or they might be large landscaped
parks with recreational and natural amenities, winter shelters, and facilities for events
and celebrations.
Civic plazas and squares also provide

more formal public spaces. Often
Great Neighborhoods locate such
spaces at “ceremonial” sites – along
main streets, at town centers, capping
long vistas, and so on. Similarly,
civic buildings such as libraries,
schools, and neighborhood centers
– which almost all historic Great
Neighborhoods have, as well as many
new ones – also provide important
gathering places. Such places are also
sheltered, an important consideration
in Dane County’s climate. Neighborhood parks provide gathering spaces for picnics, games and music.
Semi-Public “Third Places”

“Third places” is a term given to places
that are neither our private homes (“first
places”) nor our public, work locations
(“second places”). In essence, third
places are public places on private land.
Third places include neighborhood
stores, restaurants, and cafés. They all
share open doors, a street presence,
and often outdoor seating or vending
areas that bridge the public and private
realms. Such places demand pedestrian
life in order to exist. A local café provides a “semi-public” gathering space.
Americans long enjoyed third places in the form of the inns and ordinaries of colonial society,
then as the saloons and general stores springing up with westward expansion. Later came the
candy stores, soda fountains, coffee shops, diners, etc. which, along with the local post office, were
conveniently located and provided the social anchors of community life.
“Third places” also suggest the stability of the tripod in contrast to the relative instability of the
bipod. Life without community has produced, for many, a life style consisting mainly of a home-
to-work-and-back-again shuttle.

-- Ray Oldenberg, “Our Vanishing Third Places”10
25

PLACES TO SHOP (AND DINE AND BE ENTERTAINED)
The way we shop has changed significantly in recent decades. Strip development,
regional shopping malls, and “big box” retailers have replaced neighborhood stores and
downtown department stores as the preferred places to buy clothing, household goods,
and even groceries. But retail trends are notoriously fickle, and consumers are now
forcing retailers and developers to reconsider many of their core assumptions. The
principles that make Great Neighborhoods work are now being used in retail.
A Mall or a “Sense of Place”?

New shopping developments consider three key elements in determining market
potential: easy accessibility, the right products for the market, and competitive pricing.
Typical retail development tends to define “accessibility” exclusively in terms of the car.
It also uses national marketing expertise, large capital reserves, and economies of scale
to achieve high profitability. But it does all of this at the cost of feeling “local” – a cost
that consumers can easily sense. A Wal-Mart in Sun Prairie is the same as a Wal-Mart in
Shreveport, and Madison’s West Towne shopping district is not much different from a
dozen malls in New Jersey.
In contrast, shopping districts

in downtowns and in Great
Neighborhoods possess an
unmistakable “sense of place.” They
have a mix of uses, a design aesthetic
that ties them to the local, and an
energy that cannot be replicated in
most conventional developments.
Increasingly, consumers are unhappy

with the placelessness of much
modern retail, and many analysts
now describe a “sense of place” as
the fourth essential component of
successful retail. A “sense of place” in
Local businesses can still prosper in Great Neighborhoods, because there is sufficient
density nearby and because they can respond to customer demands in ways that shopping districts encourages repeat
suburban chain stores cannot. visits – the most crucial element
to successful retail. This quest for
“sense of place” explains why the
designers of the new Greenway Station
– a pedestrian-friendly, outdoor,
aesthetically pleasant “lifestyle
center” in Midddleton – rejected a
conventional mall layout.
Main Streets: Revitalization and

Reinvention
The turnaround of many downtown
business districts demonstrates
the importance of a sense of place
for retail. The past few decades
A shopping experience with a distinct sense of place.
26

The new breed of retail venues will need to exhibit all four ingredients in their design:
accessibility, product, price, and a sense of place. … Rather than the old standard single-story,
stand-alone stores surrounded and separated by acres of surface parking, the new center is
integrated, with two-level store configurations serviced by parking garages.
The recent awareness on the part of shoppers of a quality of place has been building for some
time and should continue to grow over the decades ahead. … No longer are shopping malls,
strip malls, or stand-alone stores the primary choices.
Increasingly, office and residential uses will be incorporated into the shopping place not just to
enrich the life and vitality of the center by extending its hours of operation, but also to increase
the real estate return and to hedge project dependence on retail rents. Obsolete shopping spaces
will be redeveloped as live/work/shop places and should become an increasingly important part
of American metropolitan areas as they grow to accommodate the needs of an additional 108
million residents over the next 50 years.
-- Urban Land Institute, “Back to Basics”11
has witnessed the rediscovery and revitalization of main streets – both old and new
– throughout the United States.12 More than 1,400 communities across the country are
actively involved in revitalizing their historic and older downtowns and neighborhood
commercial districts.13
Dane County is also revitalizing

and reinventing many of its main
streets. New mixed residential and
commercial developments are in
various stages of planning and
construction in DeForest, Verona,
Sun Prairie, Madison, Middleton,
Oregon, McFarland, Stoughton, and
Cambridge. Many communities are
also recognizing the importance of
adding new housing to downtown
and main street areas. Cannery
Square in downtown Sun Prairie, for
A façade improvement program funded through Dane County is spurring
example, will add about 125 units of revitalization of Main Street in downtown Stoughton.
new housing downtown, ranging from
affordable apartments to townhouses
and condominiums.
Town Centers
Developers are increasingly
responding to consumers’ interest
in walkable, mixed-use places by
developing projects called “town
centers.” These come in a range of
sizes, but they all include a wide mix
of uses, typically involving some
combination of retail, housing, office,
Sun Prairie’s reinvention of its downtown is converting empty industrial
buildings into a market square and mixed-use commercial-residential buildings.
27

entertainment, hotels, and civic institutions. They tend to be composed of multi-story
buildings, and they are oriented to pedestrian-friendly, interconnected streets, and to
prominent open spaces. Parking is provided in parking structures or behind buildings.
Over 100 such projects are underway nationwide.
Market researchers and developers have long known that the conventional mall is in
trouble – in a 1995 survey, 86 percent of suburban homebuyers stated a preference for
town centers over commercial strips and malls.14 Early evidence also shows that town
centers consistently outperform conventional shopping centers in terms of lease rates,
residential rents, hotel occupancy rates, and on-site and adjacent property values.15
In fact, a recent commercial market

analysis showed a significant level of
demand among Dane County residents
for shopping, dining and entertainment
experiences in main street type of settings
– one market analysis estimated that
Madison’s State Street can absorb more
than 100,000 square feet of new business
development by attracting new customers
from outside its student and downtown
markets.16
What these trends demonstrate is that

retail can work in neighborhood settings.
Developments that respond to people’s
preference for real places – whether in
existing main streets or new town centers
– can succeed.
Mixed-use building in the Middleton Hills neighborhood.
PLACES TO WORK
Today, few people live close to work. Two-income households and frequent job changes
mean that most people consider employment options from across metropolitan regions,
not just their neighborhoods. This, however, does not mean that Great Neighborhoods
cannot serve as employment centers: healthy neighborhood business districts can
provide local employment options, as well as positioning neighborhoods as employment
destinations for people living elsewhere.
An employment trend that neighborhoods are particularly well-placed to benefit from is

home-work. Nationally, more than 55 million people work out of their homes at least part
time. Given the growth in flex-time and telecommuting, this is a trend that is likely to continue.
Great Neighborhoods can accommodate home-based work in a variety of ways. Accessory
spaces – attics, basements, rooms above garages, or extra bedrooms – can easily be converted to
office spaces. In addition, Great Neighborhoods can provide live/work or loft spaces for home
employment in reconfigured old commercial or industrial buildings, or in the upper floors of
main street buildings.
28

The original rationale for separating work from home no longer makes as much sense.
Zoning in America began in the early 1900s as a means to separate residential uses from
manufacturing, and thus to stabilize home property values. At the time, manufacturing
represented about a third of all employment, and most if it came in the form of heavily
polluting factories. Today, however, less than one out of five jobs are in manufacturing
(and this figure continues to decline).
Market expectations for office parks are starting to change. Many American corporations,
finding that the physical context of their operations has become a major factor in attracting
talent, no longer see the single-use, suburban office park with lush vegetation, internal
amenities, and maximum flexibility as the most desirable place to do business. Their employees
do not want to have to drive two miles for lunch, five miles to go home – and fight traffic the
whole way. Instead they are asking for housing and restaurants adjacent to the workplace and
the type of mixed-use integration this approach provides.
-- Paris Rutherford, “Reinventing Suburbia”17
Most jobs today are located in office type settings in multi-story buildings. Many are in
stand-alone office parks. But many others are in locations – both urban and suburban – that
allow them to benefit from proximity to living, shopping, and other activities. Workers can
walk to a variety of places for lunch or to run errands, and they can live close to work. Shops
benefit from nearby employers, as these provide potential customers.
A growing number of these “mixed employment districts” are emerging around the
United States – at least 35 mixed-use projects that incorporate over 400,000 square feet of
commercial space (including offices, light industrial uses, and research and development
facilities) are currently under way. For example, AT&T Wireless located their 600,000-
square-foot headquarters in Redmond Town Center in Redmond, Washington, just a block
from retail stores and restaurants. “Fortune 500 companies like the amenity of having
retail nearby,” the project’s architect reported.18
In Dane County, the City of Fitchburg has approved plans for a similar project,
the Green Technology Village. The project will mix high-technology employment
with commercial and residential development. The density, mix of uses, and urban
design will allow it to achieve several goals: it will be accessible by multiple modes
of transportation; build on Fitchburg’s strong biotech and high-tech base; and use
sustainable building practices.
PLACES TO LEARN
Historic Great Neighborhoods almost always have centrally-located schools within
their boundaries. These schools serve not only as places to learn, but as community
centers. They are accessible to students (and parents) on foot or by bicycle. By
encouraging walking and civic interaction, neighborhood schools also help create
strong connections between schools, parents, teachers, nearby businesses, and
community organizations.
29

According to a 2002 report by 1000 Friends
of Wisconsin, “Children travel by foot more
than any other age group and 23% of the
Wisconsin’s population is 14 or younger.
Highways, busy streets, and other traffic
hazards become barriers to walking and
biking, even for children who live within easy
walking or biking distance from a school.
Currently, an average of one in four children
is considered overweight. Many schools are
trying to come up with strategies to address
the growing concern over childhood obesity,
Neighborhood schools, like this Madison elementary school, help build school-
but they often overlook the obvious issue
community connections. Here, the school hosts an annual carnival. of how students travel to and from school.
Students that are able to walk or bike to school
get great health benefits. In addition, walking and biking gives them a sense of independence
and it also reduces dependence on buses and cars, which in turn reduces traffic congestion
and air pollution. Unfortunately, this is one lesson that just isn’t being learned. According to
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 years ago two-thirds of children were
walking and biking to school. Today, less than 10% walk or bike.”
By looking to the models provided by old Great Neighborhoods, new developments can
begin reintegrating education into neighborhood life.
NATURAL AREAS
Finally, Great Neighborhoods – because they can accommodate the same number of
residents on less land than conventional suburban developments – allow the preservation
and even the enhancement of natural and wild areas. By “clustering” the built environment
on one part of a subdivision, developers can preserve wetlands, steep slopes, prairie and
forest tracts, and important habitat areas.
Great Neighborhoods also allow for the possibility of better environmental planning. If
environmental planning is done in conjunction with other developments, integrating
wild areas as “systems” rather than just varied ground cover, will preserve natural tracts
Planner Reid Ewing offers these 11 principles for using sound Great Neighborhoods
principles as a way of preserving wildness:
1. Use a systems approach to environmental planning.
2. Channel development into areas that are already disturbed.
3. Preserve patches of high-quality habitat, as large and circular as possible,
feathered at the edges, and connected by wildlife corridors.
4. Design around significant wetlands.
5. Establish upland buffers around all retained wetlands and natural water bodies.
6. Preserve significant uplands.
7. Restore and enhance environmental functions damaged by prior site activities.
8. Minimize runoff by clustering development on the least porous soils and using
infiltration devices and permeable pavements.
9. Detain runoff with open, natural drainage systems.
10. Design man-made lakes and stormwater ponds for maximum habitat value.
11. Use reclaimed water and integrated pest management on large landscaped areas.
-- Reid Ewing, “Best Development Practices”19
30

which can be coordinated to form
significant stretches of intact habitat.
These preserved areas also can increase
neighborhood value as amenities for
residents and neighbors.
Streets and buildings in Great

Neighborhoods can be designed to
preserve or create corridors of native
natural cover connecting wild patches
both within the neighborhood and
between the neighborhood and nearby
off-site natural areas. Buffer zones
should be maintained around all
waterways.
Wherever possible, storm water should A rain garden captures the rain water that runs off of the roof and parking
be captured in the neighborhood. Private lot from the Willy Street Food Coop in Madison.
owners can be encouraged to include
rain gardens to capture run-off on-site. Neighborhood storm water detention areas can be
designed as wetlands to allow infiltration and provide habitat for wildlife.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD AS A PART OF THE REGION

Great Neighborhoods are parts of systems that operate at the regional level and as such, they
are a key factor in the health and competitiveness of the region itself.
Today, because of our great mobility, people frequently travel outside their neighborhood
or village to find work, shopping, friends – almost everything. Most of us, without giving
it much thought, travel between cities and villages within a metropolitan region to meet
our daily needs. Although we may identify ourselves as residents of a particular place or
municipality, our interactions – economic and social – take place on a regional level.
Equally important to defining regions is ecology. Sharing a watershed or an aquifer, for

example, forces different municipalities to conceive of their water needs as part of a regional
question. Also, local soils, plants, and animals form interdependent relationships; together
with climate, topography, geology, and hydrology, they comprise “biotic communities” that
lend a nature-based sense-of-place to regions and neighborhoods.
Modern American life, in short, is no longer lived primarily at the walkable scale of the
neighborhood or village, but rather at the driveable scale of the metropolitan region. And
these regions exist as overlapping economic, social, and ecological entities.
The interactions in which we engage across the region can be atomizing and anonymous.
In contrast, the network of social, economic, civic, and ecological relationships that we
develop close to home establishes each of us as a member of a particular community.
The intimacy of geography cannot be reproduced on the regional scale, and
so neighborhoods give us a sense of belonging to a place. A group of healthy
neighborhoods will be a healthy region.
31

IN SHORT …
Great Neighborhoods provide the type of homes – dense, compact, vibrant, varied – that
make it possible for meaningful connections between houses and for residents to thrive.
Great Neighborhoods bind homes together with active and pedestrian-friendly streets,
high-quality civic open spaces, local and distinctive shopping opportunities, flexible and
appealing employment locations, accessible and neighborhood-scaled schools, preserved
wild spaces, and more. These, taken together, are what make Great Neighborhoods more
than just the sum of their housing units.
Today, neighborhoods remain intimately tied into the fabric of regions, and the functioning
of neighborhoods is as essential as ever to regional health. The maintenance and
revitalization of old neighborhoods, as well as the sound planning of new ones, offers great
promise for the success of the region’s sense of community and its sense of place. The region
works best as a neighborhood of neighborhoods.
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4
CHAPTER 4: FITTING THE
PIECES TOGETHER

So far, we have examined the pieces of Great Neighborhoods – the buildings, the people, the
open spaces. Now, let’s look at how they fit together.
Anyone who has walked in a new or historic Great Neighborhood knows that they have a
distinct and welcoming feel. What creates this? Great Neighborhoods are designed according
to principles that guide the scale of development, the immediate interrelation of the
elements, and the larger structure of how the elements are arranged.
NEIGHBORHOOD FORM
Size is everything. Or, in the case of Great Neighborhoods, scale is everything. And the
fundamental criteria that defines neighborhood scale has not changed much since the
earliest human settlements: a neighborhood shouldn’t be much bigger than a willing
person’s walk.
Before the automobile age, this pedestrian-centric limit was absolute – a neighborhood by
definition could not be bigger than the distance residents were willing to walk. This was
even true of neighborhoods oriented to non-pedestrian transportation modes, such as
trolleys or commuter rail stops, because once people got off the trolley or train, they still had
to walk to their final destination. The dawn of the car changed the scale at which settlements
could be planned, and the result was the dissolution of a walkable neighborhood as the
organizing principle of urban and suburban landscapes.
The golden quarter mile

As a rule, people will only walk about a quarter of a mile – five to ten minutes – to get
somewhere. (A quarter mile is one lap around an outdoor high school track.) People can
be lured into walks of up to a half-mile is there is a significant “magnet” destination at the
other end – a great shopping district, a sports event, or something similar.
People can also be induced to walk further than a quarter-mile if they don’t think that they
are walking to get somewhere. This is the principle that indoor shopping malls depend on:
the same shoppers who will gripe about the walk from the parking lot will nevertheless
walk for miles inside, so long as the shops hold their interest. The same idea applies in well
designed Great Neighborhoods. If the walk itself is a sufficiently attractive and a pleasant
experience, people will stroll for the simple pleasure of strolling.
On the other hand, as soon as people decide that the distance is too great or the walk too
dull, they will choose another form of transportation (most likely a car) instead. Or they
will just not go.
Neighborhood size and “ped-sheds”

The quarter-mile walkable distance is the dominant factor in defining how big a Great
Neighborhood should be. If you draw a circle to represent a neighborhood and place a
neighborhood center in the middle, the quarter mile pedestrian distance becomes the
radius. The resulting area is 160 acres. This area is what planners call a “pedestrian shed” (or
just “ped-shed”).
In the real world, very few neighborhoods are perfect circles. They come in countless
shapes and sizes. But all Great Neighborhoods – historic and new – are scaled to pedestrian
34

sheds that center on the neighborhood’s
important destinations: on its shopping
districts, schools, churches, or civic
buildings, or even on its “phantom”
centers, such as now-gone streetcar lines.
Neighborhood destinations are also more

complex than simple points at the center
of a schematic circle. They may be linear
(like main street shopping districts),
there may be several of them in different
places, or they may be at the edge of a
neighborhood rather than in the center.
Each of these variations creates differently
scaled and shaped pedestrian sheds, but
neighborhood form remains a function of
how far people will walk.
Defining the Neighborhood: Centers Downtown MT. HOREB with a quarter-mile radius superimposed. Many
different housing types and uses are located within this “pedestrian shed.”
and Edges
Great Neighborhoods typically have a
central focal point, within walking distance
of most residents, that provides a forum
for community activities and gathering.
These focal “points” are actually complex
layerings of public spaces (such as streets,
parks, and plazas) and “semi-public”
spaces (privately owned but publicly
accessible spaces such as outdoor cafes
and the areas between shops). Good
neighborhood centers allow people to
participate in public life in safe, clean, and
attractive spaces. Historic main streets
provide the quintessential examples of this
layering of public and semi-public.
Many neighborhood “centers” are actually

located at the edges of Great Neighborhoods,
where they can serve not only as local The commercial district of Atwood Avenue supports multiple pedestrian sheds.
focuses that rely on pedestrian traffic, but also
as regional destinations that capture car traffic. Locating at the edge of a neighborhood allows
destinations to provide additional parking without tearing holes in the neighborhood fabric.
This helps sustain businesses by expanding their customer market and employment base. The
same principle for capturing multiple markets (local pedestrians and regional drivers) also
applies to civic buildings, parks, and other Great Neighborhood focal points.
For example, Tenney Park on Madison’s East Side is located along the edge of the Tenney-
Lapham neighborhood, and its playfields, ice rink, and picnic pavilion serve both
neighborhood residents and park users from other neighborhoods. Similarly, Smith’s Crossing,
35

Grid-type street networks need not be the familiar “gridiron” of most American downtowns.
Grids do not even need to be rectilinear. The street network can consist of curved streets
(a “curvilinear grid”) or diagonals to better adapt to topography, accommodate natural
features, or simply generate visual interest for pedestrians and drivers. The essential
quality of the street-grid is not that it is really a “grid” at all, but that its pathways are
interconnected.
Short blocks
Another quality shared by most Great Neighborhoods is short blocks. Blocks are typically
no more than 400 to 600 feet long, and a walk around a block’s perimeter is about 1600 feet.
Small blocks provide greater visual interest, shorter walking distances, and a greater choice
of routes than longer blocks.
The street grid at left has long blocks, forcing a longer route for
someone trying to get from north to south. The short-block grid
at right provides cut-throughs and thus a shorter path, and
fewer cars.
Comparing the diagrams demonstrates another advantage of

short blocks: they allow a variety of possible routes. Choice of
walking route allows pedestrians to select the most pleasant
route, vary their route, and make stops along the way more
easily. The combination of shorter walking distances and more
travel options means that residents are more likely to choose to
walk. They will also become more familiar with more of their
neighborhood, and thus more of their neighbors.
Traffic Speed and Traffic Calming

The narrow streets of Great Neighborhoods also help to slow vehicular traffic, something
that is essential if streets are to accommodate pedestrians as well as cars. Drivers tend to
travel at whatever speed feels comfortable, regardless of posted speed limits. On a wide,
straight road with buildings set far back from the right-of-way, drivers feel comfortable
traveling at speeds of 35 miles per hour or more. On narrower streets with parked cars,
street trees, frequent intersections, and buildings closer to the right-of-way, drivers will feel
uncomfortable at speeds much greater than 20 miles per hour.
Pedestrian Fatalities & Speed

100
90
% Fatal to Pedestrians
80
70
60
50 Slowing traffic on neighborhood streets is essential
40 for pedestrian safety. Collisions between cars and
30
pedestrians tend to be non-fatal when the car is
going less than 25 miles per hour, and fatal when
20 the car is going more than 25 or 30 miles per hour.
10 Above 40, accidents are almost always fatal for
0 pedestrians.20
20 mph 30 mph 40 mph Credit: The Congress for the New Urbanism.
Speed
37

Parked Parked

4. An avenue-type street may collect traffic from local streets and connect major
destinations, such as a shopping district and a neighborhood center. A boulevard, with travel
lanes separated by landscaped median, can also be located on the edge of a neighborhood
and serve to efficiently handle through-traffic in an attractive setting.
This photograph demonstrates how the balance between people and cars This narrower 20-foot-wide street is only one block long, serving local
actually looks. West Washington Avenue in Madison becomes less pedestrian- residents almost exclusively. The rules restricting traffic to one-way and
friendly as the street widens and sidewalks become narrower. parking to one side are policies that could change to suit local traffic needs
and neighborhood policies.
Main Street in downtown Stoughton. This street in the new neighborhood of Grandview Commons in
Madison functions as an avenue, connecting a neighborhood park to
the commercial center.
This 32-foot-wide street serves as a collector to handle higher levels of Erdman Boulevard, Middleton Hills.
neighborhood traffic.
39

On-street parking is generally permitted on local streets. A 26-foot-wide roadway is the typical
cross-section used in many urban residential areas. This width assures one through-lane,
even where parking occurs on both sides. Specific parking lanes are not usually designated
on such local streets. The lack of two moving lanes may be inconvenient to the user in some
cases; however, the frequency of such concern has been found to be remarkably low. Random
intermittent parking on both sides of the street usually results in areas where two-way
movement can be accommodated.
-- American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)21
NEIGHBORHOOD ELEMENTS: RELATING TO THE STREET

Because the streets – the bones of the neighborhood – are so important to how a
Great Neighborhood functions, it is essential that buildings in such neighborhoods are
thoughtfully placed in relation to the streets.
Commercial and Civic Buildings

As a rule, Great Neighborhoods will include a relatively higher density, mixed-use area
– what is called a “main street” district (although it may be on more than one street). Such
a district is typically the core of the neighborhood; and ideally everything else is within a
quarter-mile walk.
Main street districts provide basic retail amenities (such as drug stores, small grocers),
other shops and restaurants, and central civic spaces (including plazas, public buildings,
and even the street itself). Buildings in main street areas are usually two or more stories
and are built right up to the property line. Upper floors are usually occupied by offices
or residences. Storefronts are largely glassed, to showcase merchandise and to add visual
appeal to the street experience, and often shops and cafés will spill out onto the sidewalk.
The scale and intensity of main streets vary,

depending on the size of the neighborhood
and community. Downtown and
neighborhood cores in mid- to large-size
cities will have sizable main street districts
that may extend for dozens of blocks, while
small villages may have a block or less of
main street.
Civic buildings such as city halls, libraries,

and community centers are also commonly
found in main street areas. Civic buildings
in Great Neighborhoods are a significant
convenience to the residents, provide venues
for public life, and bring additional customers
to commercial districts.
Prairie Cafe Building in Middleton Hills, west of Madison.
40

Great Neighborhoods may also include
areas that are primarily for workplaces,
such as offices and light manufacturing.
These “mixed employment” areas
are typically configured similarly to
a main street area, with multi-story
structures that face the street, although
the predominant activity will be
employment instead of retail. Many
areas are also able to blend employment
and main street activities.
Parking
Parking is an essential amenity for
retail. Although Great Neighborhoods
are designed to encourage walking and
bicycling, they do not seek to punish Cambridge’s pedestrian-friendly Main Street.
drivers. Furthermore, pedestrians
and bikers rarely provide a sufficient customer-base for business. Parking in Great
Neighborhoods is placed artfully, mixing very visible locations and not-at-all visible ones.
Cars are either parked on-street or in parking lots (or structures) that are shielded from
view by buildings with street-appeal.
On-street parking is the old-fashioned

solution to all parking – in many older
urban areas, it is the only option. On-
street parking has numerous advantages
over other configurations. It helps to
buffer pedestrians from street traffic,
narrow travel lanes to slow traffic, and
create energy and hustle-bustle along
main streets and other active areas. Great
Neighborhoods also provide ample
parking close to building entrances for
people with disabilities.
On-street parking has one huge

disadvantage, however: there are
generally not enough spaces in close
proximity to meet the needs of
most modern businesses. Therefore,
the majority of parking in Great
Neighborhoods is best set behind
buildings and accessed via side streets On-street parking provides spaces for cars and buffers pedestrians from traffic.
or alleys. Parking lots along the street
and between buildings break up the visual continuity of the street and reduce the usable
commercial square-footage of the district, reducing its value. Placing parking at the rear
avoids creating an unappealing environment for pedestrians.
41

If parking behind buildings is not an option
because of lot dimensions, limited access, or
other site restrictions, parking can be placed
beside buildings with a visual barrier (such
as landscaping or an attractive short fence or
wall) separating parking from the sidewalk;
this lay-out at least allows retail buildings
to front directly on the street. Also, because
people have become accustomed to being
able to find easy parking, it is important that
Great Neighborhoods’ commercial districts
have signage and way-finding showing
drivers where to find ample parking.
In extremely dense and active areas with very

high parking demand, providing sufficient
Parking is provided at the rear of shops on Main Street in downtown Sun Prairie.
surface parking to meet demand risks creating
huge “dead spaces,” even if the parking is creatively located. In such cases, structured parking
becomes an appealing option. Contrary to the common perception, parking structures do
not have to be ugly. New structured-parking designs have interesting façades, and some even
house retail businesses at street level. In some places, parking can also be contained completely
underground, with retail and businesses at the ground level and above.
Residential Buildings
Great Neighborhoods do not segregate residential uses from non-residential uses. They
allow different uses to mix, as they did in small towns and neighborhoods before the advent
of modern zoning.
Often, main street buildings will have

apartments above street level – this is almost
always the case on historic main streets.
Residential buildings near main streets tend to
provide higher-density living, including multi-
family buildings and townhouses. Single-
family homes are also often located close to
main street districts. Such homes usually face
the street, and they are built on the lot fairly
close to the street. Garages are typically located
behind the house facing an alley, or set beside
or behind the house and accessible by a front
driveway. Smaller commercial spaces such as
corner stores, home offices, or neighborhood
bars are allowed in residential areas of Great
A Madison bungalow near the Williamson Street commercial district.
Neighborhoods.
Parks, Plazas, and Other Open Spaces

In Great Neighborhoods, the spaces not occupied by streets or structures are deliberately
designed so that they can serve as quality open spaces. These open spaces can take the form
of squares, plazas, and parks.
42

Squares are typically a block in size,
surrounded by streets, and faced by the
building frontages across the street. They
are usually found in higher density areas
such as village centers or downtowns,
and they are designed to function as
outdoor rooms for the surrounding
structures – places to eat lunch, take a
walk, or read a book. Many squares have
facilities for outdoor concerts or other
civic events. Squares typically consist of
green space with formal arrangements
of landscaping, pavilion-type structures,
and benches.
Plazas are also located in higher density,

Oakridge Street in Madison’s Atwood neighborhood is comfortable, intimate,
urban or village-center environments. and inviting. It is 28 feet wide.
They are smaller than squares and usually
consist of harder surfaces. Like squares, plazas face the street and are intended for passive
uses. They add visual variety to the streetscape and to provide places for shoppers, workers,
and other pedestrians to rest during busy days.
True parks are significantly larger open areas, usually with open lawns, trees, shelters,
picnic tables, and playground equipment. Parks are dedicated to active play as well as
passive recreation and the enjoyment of nature. As a rule, parks are either integrated into
neighborhoods, with buildings fronting the park, or located at the edge of neighborhoods,
with ball fields and larger open spaces for active recreation.
IN SHORT …
The elements of any development – the houses, commercial buildings, parking, open
spaces, streets, and so on – are always laid out in relation to each other. What makes Great
Neighborhoods distinct from other types of development is that the relationships between
elements are always designed to create vitality, variety, and visual interest. Elements, people,
and uses are deliberately mixed.
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5
CHAPTER 5: MODERN LAND
DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS
– HOW WE GOT HERE &
THE RULES THAT GUIDE
DEVELOPMENT NOW

So if Great Neighborhoods are, in fact, “great,” why haven’t we built more of them in the last
half century?
The short answer is that changes in development patterns that followed the Second World
War led to the dominance of conventional suburban subdivisions. These patterns were
influenced by laws, policies, and planning priorities at various levels of government, and
many of these same regulations now perpetuate these land-use patterns.
But the rules of land development are not set in stone. They can be modified to meet the
growing demand for Great Neighborhoods.
LAND DEVELOPMENT IN POST-WAR AMERICA

“Suburbanization” began long before the Second World War. Ferries, streetcars, and
suburban commuter trains had seeded elite suburbs around most large American cities as
early as the 1890s. Large-scale urban flight among American industries began in the 1920s,
as factories updated their facilities and moved to cheaper land outside of town. But the post-
war suburban boom was vastly different in terms of its scale and the intensity of its impacts
on the American landscape, and on American society itself. It is only a slight overstatement
to say that it changed everything.
World War II veterans returned to a United States in the midst of a radical economic
transition. The immensely productive American wartime economy was re-tooled to produce
consumer goods, infrastructure, and homes. Growing worldwide demand, increasing
industrial productivity, and relatively strong unions meant that good-paying jobs were
plentiful. Americans also got to work making families, creating the biggest home-grown
population expansion in U.S. history: the Baby Boom.
In 1950’s America, the old-fashioned “American Dream” – a nice, safe place where you
could raise a family – evolved into a narrower, more prescriptive, more exclusive vision.
The post-war “American Dream”: owning a new house on a generous lawn with a growing
family, paid for by Dad’s job, and cared for by stay-at-home Mom and her brigade of new
household appliances.
Mortgage Lending, Homeownership, and Flight to the Suburbs

The Federal Home Administration and the Veterans Administration made huge amounts
of mortgage financing available for purchase of new single-family homes, but it did not
support investment in multi-family units or buying or fixing up old homes. The Federal
National Mortgage Association (FNMA, or “Fannie Mae”) was created to establish a
secondary market for home mortgages that enabled a huge expansion of home lending
– again, for single-family homes. The U.S. government also created the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and enabled the rise of the savings-and-loan industry
(which was then tightly regulated), further expanding home-financing opportunities.
The secondary mortgage market itself presents an obstacle to Great Neighborhoods. This
market recognizes some nineteen “product types” of development defined by their single-
use categories. Bankers and investors often balk at financing neighborhoods with mixes of
uses that do not neatly fit into these product categories.
45

As the middle class moved out of cities to the expanding suburbs, the poor were largely left
behind. Early FHA loans required restrictive covenants on mortgages that excluded Blacks
(and often other minorities) from living in new suburbs. Into the 1960s, the FHA drew lines
around African American neighborhoods, deeming them bad places for investment and
refusing to make loans in those areas. (The lines on FHA maps were red, thus giving rise to
the term “redlining.”) Many banks and home insurers quietly continued the practice into
the 1990s. As blatant racial exclusion fell out of favor, some suburban communities adopted
“exclusionary” zoning laws that restricted housing other than large single-family homes,
effectively barring all but middle and upper income families.
In the cities, government’s answer to the mounting urban crisis was an ambitious physical
remaking of America’s cities. Urban renewal programs demolished large portions of
cities and replaced them with high-rise public housing projects, new Interstate highways,
and other large public works projects. Many cities were left shells of their former selves.
Disinvestment and increasing concentrations of poverty itself accelerated middle-class flight
from central cities.
Separation of Uses
In the 1920s, residential property owners outside Cleveland won a Supreme Court fight
for single-use zoning, allowing developers nationwide to separate housing from other
incompatible uses. By the 1950s and ‘60s, however, separating uses had become an end
unto itself.
As American mass culture strove for the suburban, middle-class “American Dream,”
it rejected the perceived ills of city life: congestion, danger, dirt, and unpredictability.
Suburbs were meant to be spacious, safe, clean, and ordered. As a result, new developments
controlled their environments by separating all uses. Shopping, working, living, learning,
and playing would each have its own realm.
The Car
Post-war development patterns were fueled (literally) by the rise of the private automobile.
Although cars were not uncommon as early as the 1920s, roads were generally poor and the
car was of somewhat limited utility as a practical means of getting around. In the 1950s,
for the first time, it was commonplace for families to own cars. Americans embraced the
personal freedom provided by the car. In many ways, the automobile embodied the freedom,
power and wealth of the post-war era.
While economics, demographics, and technology were dominant forces shaping the post-
war supremacy of the car, public policy and investment also played key roles. Cities, states,
and the federal government had been building paved roads since the 1920s, and by the
post-war era, a fairly complete system was in place. In the face of the car’s ascendancy,
streetcars were forced to yield right-of-way and then were simply decommissioned; bikes
and pedestrians were forced to the side of the road. Then, in the 1950s, the creation of the
Interstate highways system made possible America’s final transformation from a rail-based
transportation system to one dominated by the automobile and the freight truck.
Unfortunately, the things that make for a high-quality road experience from the perspective
of a car – road designs favoring speed and occupant safety – are not the same things that
make for a high-quality experience for anyone else. Landscaping, narrow rights-of-way, bike
46

lanes, sidewalks, pedestrian amenities, and the like are at best irrelevant to – and at worst
in conflict with – the automotive ideals of fast passage for cars. So, most roads built in the
post-war era dispense with these things in the interest of being wider, straighter, and faster.
Not only roads were remade, but private lots were radically reconfigured in order to
accommodate parked cars. Commercial buildings that once fronted the street to allow
pedestrian access from the sidewalk were now placed far back and separated from the street
by large parking lots with a space for almost every individual employee or shopper. Larger
portions of residential lots became devoted to car storage through the steadily expanding
garages and driveways. In many places, garages became the dominant presence along
residential streets.
Urban form itself was fundamentally altered by the car. Prior to the war, new communities
clustered around rail lines, and development was limited by walkable distances from
stations. In the 1950s, unconstrained by proximity to stations, development could spread
out along the new roads and highways.
For the first time in human history, daily activities were no longer constrained by the
limitations of walking. A location five or ten miles away was still easily accessible. However,
by making distant destinations accessible by car, post-war development patterns also made
them accessible only by car.
The Loss of Civic Space

A final result of the dominance of the car over all other modes has been the elimination of
civic space. The pre-car street was a community’s greatest public space, and this great forum
of civic interaction surrounded and pervaded everything it touched – train stations, parks,
main streets, houses’ front porches, and more.
The replacement of a multi-modal, interactive street with an enclosed car removed the
“glue” of civic life. Today, Americans don’t just happen upon civic life – they must actively
seek it out, and often they must pay to do so. Spaces for people to interact as neighbors and
citizens have become few.
CODIFYING NEW GROWTH PATTERNS: THE “RULES” OF DEVELOPMENT

Many forces – rising wealth, the automobile, the baby boom, infrastructure investments,
government policies – came together to radically alter historic development patterns. But
laws and policies also emerged that essentially changed the rules of the game, both fixing
and reproducing new growth patterns. Most of these rules make it very difficult to build
Great Neighborhoods.
Taken together, the end result of typical ordinances, rules, and regulations is that new
development features large-lot, single-family housing set along very wide roads, fairly far
away from retail or employment centers that are only realistically accessible by car. These
ordinances present challenges to the creation of new Great Neighborhoods because every
exception to every rule must be separately granted, costing developers time and money, with
no certain outcome.
47

Zoning
Zoning defines what uses or activities can occur at what locations. Zoning creates “districts,”
demarcated by colored sections on a map, each allowing a narrow range of approved uses.
As such, zoning separates housing, commercial, and industrial areas, often making very
fine gradations within each category: single-family homes on one acre are separated from
single-family homes on half-an-acre, which are separated from attached townhouses, which
are separated from multi-family units, and so on. All of this makes Great Neighborhoods
impossible to build.
Modern zoning also tends to favor large lots. Such zoning is intended to produce housing
with large, gracious yards and an affluent feel. In many places, large-lot zoning also has side-
effects: it is extremely land-consumptive, and it tends to put suburban lifestyles out of reach
of lower-income people.
An exception to conventional zoning is Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning. In PUD

districts, the specifics of uses, densities, and so forth are negotiated directly between the
municipality and the developer, rather than being pre-determined. PUDs allow greater
flexibility in zoning, but they do not represent a systematic method for producing Great
Neighborhoods.
Subdivision Ordinances
Subdivision ordinances are laws that govern how large parcels can be broken up – that is,
“subdivided” – into smaller parcels. They typically specify what improvements the land will
require before it can be built upon, including: stormwater drainage, sewer, water supply
(both for consumer and fire department use), street widths that can accommodate fire and
garbage trucks, and potentially protection of shorelines, wetlands, steep slopes, and other
environmental or scenic resources. They may also call for amenities such as sidewalks and
bike paths.
Roadway Design Specifications

Subdivision ordinances also create challenges for Great Neighborhoods because they
typically call for roads that are wide, with wide turning radii and few sharp corners, and
few traffic calming measures. Such roads more easily accommodate emergency vehicles and
garbage trucks, but they also encourage faster automobile traffic and discourage a “human
scale” for residential and commercial construction. They also tend to push pedestrians and
bikes off the streets, effectively removing streets from the civic realm.
Subdivision road designs are usually based on state guidelines, which are in turn based upon
guidelines laid down by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials (AASHTO) in a handbook called the “Green Book.” Unfortunately, the Green
Book’s design guidelines have long been derived from highway design, even in the case
of urban streets. The Green Book views the function of roads as primarily to ensure the
mobility of motor vehicles and are often used to advance road and street designs that
discourage pedestrian activities.
AASHTO has begun changing its specifications for local roads to accommodate better
neighborhood design. Such changes – disseminated through large state bureaucracies to
civil engineers and transportation planners – take effect very slowly.
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Building Codes
Building codes typically are designed for new construction, requiring the highest
standard. This tends to make building renovation – bringing old buildings “up to code”
– extremely expensive. The costs imposed by these codes can make renovation economically
infeasible, even when options exist to safely renovate a building. Some states have adopted
rehabilitation building codes to allow enough flexibility to enable the renovation of existing
buildings in Great Neighborhoods, while still protecting public safety. Wisconsin’s Historic
Building Code provides an alternative method for determining code compliance when a
qualified historic building is remodeled, altered or undergoes a change in occupancy.
School Siting
School districts and state school policies set guidelines for size of schools. Often these
guidelines call for school sites that, by their large size, preclude their placement in
neighborhoods. The only sites large enough are on the urban fringe where driving is required.
According to a 2002 report by 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, “The number of schools in the U.S.
declined by 70% since World War II but their average size increased five fold. This trend is
changing due to recent research on the effect of school size on student achievement, which
indicates that a small school policy may be a powerful tool for improving student performance.
Larger schools exact significant and long-lasting costs in the form of lower levels of student
achievement; greater problems related to safety, violence, and discipline; and lower rates of
attendance and graduation. These are costs that are more likely to be paid first by poor and
minority children. Academic achievement in small schools is at least equal, and often superior,
to that of large schools. Student attitudes and social behavior are more positive in small schools,
and the percentage of dropouts is lower.”
TRADITIONAL NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENTS (TNDs)

By the 1990s a growing number of people came to realize that, by reinventing our built
environment for the automobile and the goal of suburban homeownership, we were
sacrificing walkability, transportation choices, neighborhood diversity, public spaces, and
civic life. They began to look for ways to accommodate all of these things. Architects,
planners, and developers sought to combine the human-scaled, civic-minded patterns of
pre-war America with modern financing, transportation, and development realities.
Basically, this effort – variously dubbed neo-traditional development, New Urbanism,

traditional neighborhood developments (TND), transit oriented development (TOD),
or close-knit communities (CKC), and which we have referred to, generally, as Great
Neighborhoods – seeks to promote compact, walkable, diverse, safe and attractive
neighborhoods. A top priority was re-vamping the many regulations, rules, and statutes that
make it difficult today to build Great Neighborhoods.
New traditional neighborhood development (TND) codes, such as Wisconsin’s Model

Ordinance for a TND22 and Dane County’s Model TND Ordinance, seek to remove the
impediments to developing Great Neighborhoods by replacing conventional subdivision
and zoning statutes with TND statutes. These ordinances lay out Great Neighborhoods
principles: they define traditional neighborhood districts that are compact and walkable,
49

with a mix of uses and a network of attractive streets and public spaces; they provide
expedited review processes for Great Neighborhoods; and they define detailed development
standards for public spaces and private lots.
TND Design Principles

While there is significant variety between different Great Neighborhoods’ models, they
all share a number of basic goals, many of which have already been sketched out in other
chapters of this handbook. They should:
• Be compact and walkable enough to encourage safe and efficient use by walkers, bikers,
and transit riders, without excluding automobiles.
• Feature streets that function as an interconnected network, dispersing traffic and
offering a variety of pedestrian and vehicular routes to any destination, while connecting
and integrating the neighborhood with surrounding communities.
• Have an identifiable center that functions as a community gathering place, and
identifiable edges that promote a sense of neighborhood identity.
• Offer a variety of housing choices within the same neighborhood, including dwellings
that meet the needs and preferences of younger and older people, singles and families,
and people of varying income levels.
• Host a diverse mix of activities and uses, including residences, shops, schools, churches,
workplaces, and parks, all in walkable proximity.
• Contain a range of open spaces, greens, and parks that are accessible and convenient
to everyone.
TNDs and Architectural Style

A common misconception of TNDs and
Great Neighborhoods in general is that they
must be designed and built in traditional
architecture styles. Although many of our
historic neighborhoods are in fact built in
traditional vernacular styles, the success of
Great Neighborhoods is not dependent on
any particular style. What matters is good
planning and design of individual buildings
and public spaces, the use of quality
materials, the locations of buildings on
Great Neighborhoods allow for individual touches (as long they support the each lot and the connections that are made
right team!)
between buildings and public spaces. Great
Neighborhoods are about urban design
ideas, not specific architectural styles.
IN SHORT …
After World War II, the rise of the
automobile, the pursuit of a suburban
“American Dream,” and increased wealth
caused cities and suburbs to expand
rapidly. This expansion was markedly
different from historical patterns. It was
This Spanish style home fits nicely into a Great Neighborhood.
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characterized by highly separated uses and activities, connected by auto-oriented roads that
severely hindered other forms of travel. These development patterns were locked in place
by zoning and subdivision codes, as well as other public and private rules and policies that
made the new form of growth the only viable option. New development patterns offered
gains in terms of spaciousness, privacy, and travel convenience by car, but it came at the
costs of reduced community connections, transportation choice, neighborhood diversity,
and public spaces.
An effort to reclaim these qualities in existing and new neighborhoods gained momentum
in the 1990s, as architects, planners, developers and others promoted a set of principles for
new traditional neighborhood developments. New zoning systems – TND codes – emerged
to provide an alternate set of “rules” by which development could take the form of Great
Neighborhoods.
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6
CHAPTER 6: MAKING GREAT
NEIGHBORHOODS HAPPEN
– IT TAKES EVERYONE
WORKING TOGETHER

So far, we’ve seen that great neighborhoods include a wide range of housing types for
many different households, and that neighborhoods include places like shops and civic
buildings, as well as homes. We learned how the different pieces fit together to make a
Great Neighborhood. And we learned how the “rules” that govern land development can be
written to promote them.
Well then, why aren’t there more Great Neighborhoods being created? Making them happen
is not easy. Inertia is not on Great Neighborhoods’ side: developers, public officials, and
citizens often have little experience or understanding of them. Zoning and subdivision rules
generally hamper the development of key elements, such as narrower streets or mixed uses.
Financial institutions tend to be reluctant to provide financing for complex development
packages. Schools and churches may have site-development guidelines that require large
amounts of land for new facilities, making Great Neighborhood principles very challenging
to implement.
Overcoming these and other hurdles requires people to work together. When citizens,
developers, public officials, local organizations, and financial institutions understand the
value of Great Neighborhoods and play their parts to make them happen, then Great
Neighborhoods – and great cities, villages, towns, and regions – can be created.
THE DEAL-MAKERS: WHAT’S IN IT FOR DEVELOPERS, BUILDERS,

FINANCIERS, AND REALTORS?
Ordinary citizens can advocate and speak out on Great Neighborhood issues, but they can’t
build them. With very rare exception, our built environment – both the good and the bad
– is created by private-sector real estate developers, constructed by private-sector builders,
financed by private-sector investors, and marketed by private-sector realtors. So, it would be
nice if there were developers, builders, investors, and realtors out there who would be willing
to produce Great Neighborhoods simply because they are committed to the principles of
sound, sustainable neighborhood design. And certainly there are many such people in Dane
County. But for Great Neighborhoods to happen, principled people are not enough. The
private sector needs to see the potential profits of tapping into the growing market for Great
Neighborhoods.
Luckily for supporters of Great Neighborhoods, there is demand, and they are profitable
ventures. This means that getting the private-sector real estate community to become more
active is a matter of education (most developers, builders, investors, and realtors have no
experience with anything but conventional suburbia) and promoting best practices within
each profession.
Developers and realtors can work with neighborhood groups, citizens, and local plan
commissions to communicate the Great Neighborhood elements of their proposals. They
can document the safety and serviceability of narrower streets, and the economic benefits
of great neighborhoods. They can advocate for zoning reform that implements Great
Neighborhood (i.e., TND) development districts.
Furthermore, nothing succeeds like success. New Great Neighborhoods and refurbished
older ones provide models that marketers and developers can look to when considering the
viability of the next new Great Neighborhood. Financial successes will convince lenders and
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underwriters that the Great Neighborhoods model is a secure investment. The object-
at-rest inertia that currently restrains development of Great Neighborhoods will become
an equally powerful object-in-motion inertia as the successes of Great Neighborhoods
become better understood.
Those who make their livings on real-estate development always favor the tried-and-true,
because it is the conservative, risk-averse, reliable investment. Luckily, it only takes one
maverick to build the first new Great Neighborhood. Then, this new neighborhood model
becomes as “tried-and-true” as any conventional, large-lot, single-use subdivision.
GETTING PUBLIC OFFICIALS ON BOARD

There is an old urban planning dictum which goes, basically: “Whatever it is that you want
to see built, make that the easiest thing to build.” Today, many city planners understand the
value of Great Neighborhoods principles, and many want to see more development that fits
those patterns, but existing codes ensure that conventional development on the urban fringe
remains the easiest thing to do. Only highly specialized firms deal with downtown projects,
brownfield reclamation, neighborhood developments, and so forth.
In order to get the private sector to more actively pursue Great Neighborhood projects, city
planners need to examine the rules they have adopted through their zoning and subdivision
ordinances, and identify obstacles to the creation or rehabilitation of Great Neighborhoods.
They can amend their zoning codes to adopt TND zoning districts that establish new
rules making it possible to develop Great Neighborhoods. They can incorporate Great
Neighborhoods principles into their comprehensive and neighborhood plans.
City planners are not the only ones who set the rules of development. Transportation
engineers, public works engineers, and other technician-officials can help identify ways
their professional objectives can be met, yet still create, walkable, compact, and diverse
neighborhoods. They can work with planners and developers to rethink rules that primarily
accomodate automobile use, infrastructure provision policies that are not cost-effective, and
other land-development rules that block Great Neighborhoods.
Other public officials have tangential roles in setting the rules for land use, but they can have
equally profound impacts on whether or not Great Neighborhoods happen. School officials,
for example, can modify site design guidelines for new schools to reduce the required
acreages. This would allow elementary schools to be located in Great Neighborhoods, and
middle and high schools to be located on the borders of neighborhoods. Site guidelines
could also ensure that new schools are within walking distance of many homes, and that the
sites can be easily accessed by foot and bicycle.
Building inspectors also have a role. They can identify and reform code provisions that
effectively penalize rehabilitation projects. Many building codes require all construction
projects to adhere to new construction standards. For rehab projects, this level of code
compliance can render a project economically infeasible. Wisconsin and many other states
have adopted Historic Building Codes that protect public safety while allowing greater
flexibility for rehabilitation projects. Owners of qualified historic buildings in Wisconsin
may elect to use the Historic Building Code in lieu of any prevailing code provided the issue
is included in the Historic Building Code.
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Other public officials should also be involved in making Great Neighborhoods happen.
Fire departments and sanitation departments should work with others to meet both safety
requirements and create Great Neighborhoods streets. Grant-making officers for programs
such as the Community Development Block Grant and others should favor projects and
efforts that promote Great Neighborhoods. And, of course, mayors and other elected
representatives are in positions of influence to change assumptions about land development,
affect municipal priorities, and otherwise promote old and new Great Neighborhoods.
GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS AND COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING

Wisconsin’s 1999 Comprehensive Planning Law (also known as the “Smart Growth Law”)
is one of Wisconsin’s primary tools for creating both regional cooperation and Great
Neighborhoods. The law requires that by 2010, most Wisconsin municipalities complete a
comprehensive plan that addresses a range of planning concerns: issues and opportunities,
housing, transportation, utilities and public facilities, economic development, cultural
resources, agricultural resources, natural resources, intergovernmental cooperation, land
use, and implementation.
The law also requires that all cities and villages over 12,500 people adopt a traditional
neighborhood development (TND) zoning ordinance. Although there is no requirement to
map TNDs, having a TND zoning ordinance on the books means that a developer who is
interested in doing a TND need only apply for a single zoning variance, rather than trying to
bend a series of existing statutes and regulations to allow the creation of a Great Neighborhood.
In addition, the law requires that municipalities which accept state funding to complete
their plans (approximately 80 percent of plans currently underway are state-funded) must
meet 14 criteria for “smart” planning. Almost all of these directly address the concerns of
Great Neighborhoods.
These criteria call for the designation of “smart growth” areas – places where a municipality
wants to encourage infill development, or undeveloped areas where it makes sense to
encourage new development. In effect, this is a requirement that municipalities designate
where new and infill Great Neighborhoods should be sited.
The law further calls for the promotion of development of land with existing infrastructure
and services – including historic redevelopment – and it calls for ensuring that new growth
will have sufficient new infrastructure, and that new development be out so as to increase
efficiencies and decrease public-sector costs. Great Neighborhoods achieve all of these.
The law also calls for multi-modal transportation systems. It requires municipalities to
encourage neighborhood designs that support transportation choices, and to provide
mobility to all citizens, including transit-dependent and disabled people. It also calls for the
provision of an adequate supply of housing for residents at all income levels.
Another Great Neighborhoods principle that the Comprehensive Planning Law promotes is
a sense of place. The law calls for building community identity by revitalizing “main streets”
and using design standards; preserving cultural, historic, and archaeological sites; and
creating and/or preserving unique urban and rural communities.
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Finally, the law calls for the conservation and protection of non-urban scenic and economic
resources. It requires that municipalities act to protect natural areas and resources, and to
protect economically productive non-urban areas such as farms and forests. This, too, is a
goal that Great Neighborhoods can help achieve through land conservation and through
simply reducing the demand for land by instituting compact development.
PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT ISSUES

Local governments usually establish Plan Commissions to review new developments or
changes to existing development. Typically, the people who attend and get involved in Plan
Commission meetings are those with a vested interest in the outcome of a decision. These
often include the developer and nearby property owners. Often, the role of neighbors is
reduced to anti-development “NIMBYism” (“not in my backyard”), because they have not
been involved in planning for changes until after the fact.
Neighborhood organizations can get

involved in proactive ways by taking
strong roles in neighborhood planning
and in municipality-wide comprehensive
planning. These plans lay out visions
for how the community will look and
function in the near and long-term future.
The plans serve as guideposts for future
decision-making. Unlike comprehensive
planning, neighborhood planning is not
required under Wisconsin law, but it is an
effective tool for guiding future change at
the neighborhood scale. Neighborhood
groups should work to ensure that their
plans are officially incorporated into
comprehensive plans.
Citizen involvement can work well when citizen organizations talk with developers in
the early stages of development proposals. Through early communication, citizens and
developers can work out development options that are mutually beneficial before they get to
the more formal design, permitting, and political processes, where interactions can become
polarized and confrontational.
Mere involvement in the planning process, however, is not sufficient. To make sure plans
are followed, neighborhood residents need to stay involved in neighborhood development
issues. If citizen participation in the planning process is effective, local residents will feel a
sense of ownership over the plans.
Making Communities More Walkable

Many neighborhoods have barriers to walking. Heavy and fast auto traffic deters people
from crossing streets or even walking along them. A lack of nearby destinations removes any
reason to walk or bike. And when all of these conspire to keep pedestrians off the streets, the
lack of foot-traffic in itself becomes a disincentive for people to walk.
56

One way to increase walkability of a neighborhood is to conduct a “walking audit.” A
walking audit is a checklist that measure the pedestrian-friendliness of a neighborhood
by examining the condition of sidewalks, design of streets and intersections, how many
destinations are within walking distance of most homes, and so forth. The audits are used to
prioritize improvements needed to make the area more conducive to walking. Once citizens
have established a walkability priority list, they can work with the local government or other
entities to improve conditions.
Another way that citizens can make street crossing safer in Dane County is to establish a
pedestrian flag crossing program. Sponsored by The Safe Community Coalition of Madison
and Dane County and ActiveForLife, the pedestrian flag crossing program places baskets of
small red flags on either side of an intersection on a busy street at points where pedestrians
feel the need to cross. Local residents get trained to use the flags to signal to drivers that they
are crossing, and to let the drivers know to yield to the pedestrian in the crosswalk.
Children walking to school is one of the best ways to put life out on the sidewalks. In 1960,
half of children in the U.S. walked to school. Today only about one out of ten kids walk
to school.23 Many parents are now concerned about their children crossing busy streets, or
they fear dangers due to deserted streets. Parents joining their children provides a potential
solution, but the same concerns often remain (and this solution only works up until a
certain age). By working with each other and with schools, parents can share walking with
kids to school, advocate for crossing guards, and create an atmosphere that says, “It’s safe to
walk to school.”
GETTING LOCAL GROUPS INVOLVED

In order for local citizens to want to get involved in promoting existing or new Great
Neighborhoods, groups need to consider what they stand to gain from them. There is
nothing cynical about taking a “What’s in it for us?” stance on the issue, particularly because
Great Neighborhoods have so much to offer so many groups.
Seniors stand to gain much from Great Neighborhood designs. As people age they depend
more on non-automobile forms of transportation and often use walking as a way to stay
physically active and healthy; therefore, they benefit disproportionately from close proximity
to parks and local stores. Living in Great Neighborhoods also allows seniors to keep involved
in community life, unlike the case when they are isolated in elderly-only developments.
Organizations representing seniors can help educate their members about Great
Neighborhoods and inform them of how they can get involved in related local planning
and development issues. For example, seniors can work with neighborhood organizations
to communicate demand for local stores (such as pharmacies) within walking distance
from homes. They can advocate for safer crossings at key intersections. And they can
communicate to developers the importance of integrating senior-housing into Great
Neighborhoods – instead of siting it in car-dependent isolation.
Accessible transportation is an essential part of independence for people with disabilities.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Great Neighborhoods should make
every effort to remove physical barriers from buildings, streets and sidewalks and offer as
many transportation options as possible.
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Another group that gains from Great Neighborhoods – again, because they depend on non-
car transportation opportunities – are young people. The ability to safely walk or bike to
friends houses, parks, schools, and stores means a higher level of independence for people
under the driving age (and for their parents). Access to safe places to play and hang out in
the community also provides a relief valve for the feelings of isolation and alienation that
many suburban youths describe.
Youth organizations are beginning to realize that young people provide essential – and
totally unique – perspectives on planning and development issues. Yet such perspectives are
typically under-represented at planning forums. Young people can be engaged through their
schools, extracurricular activities, and community groups to explore Great Neighborhoods
ideas. Youth groups (and their adult coordinators) can actively lobby to be involved in local
planning decisions. And students, teachers, and school officials – as well as parents – can
speak out in favor of school-siting policies that follow Great Neighborhoods principles.
Increasingly, public health organizations and advocacy groups are realizing that there is
a link between land use and physical activity. A sedentary lifestyle in which cars are the
only means of transportation is simply unhealthy. Research completed by the Centers for
Disease Control24 clearly demonstrates the connection between a lack of opportunities
to walk or bike, on one hand, and our national epidemic of obesity (and particularly
childhood obesity) on the other. Physical activity is an inevitable and positive side-effect of
Great Neighborhoods design, and it contributes to public health. This is both an absolute
benefit for society and a cost-saving boon for the health-care system. Such organizations
should educate their members about Great Neighborhoods principles, and get involved in
efforts and discussions to demonstrate the health benefits of more walkable and bikable
communities.
Religious organizations – including both houses of worship and lay groups – historically
understood the connection between healthy communities, Great Neighborhoods principles,
and their own moral and social values. Because its parishes are not movable, the Catholic
Church in particular has long been a champion of sustainable neighborhood principles.
Too often, however, expanding congregations of virtually all denominations seek out large
sites on the edges of urban areas, seeking cheap land, easy vehicular accessibility, and large
parking lots. But they do so at the cost of removing religious institutions from the social
context of neighborhoods, and of making walking to them impossible.
Concerned leaders and congregants should consider whether they should be guided by the
civic and cultural values of Great Neighborhoods, or by the real-estate logic of conventional
suburban development. In many cases, there are neighborhood- and community-friendly
options for relocation or expansion that still meet their facility needs. On a broader level,
congregations can be a forum to discuss the concepts that underpin Great Neighborhoods,
to organize an active presence in community and comprehensive planning processes, and to
get involved in local development issues.
The local police department, neighborhood watch groups, or other groups concerned with
public safety also stand to gain from the implementation of Great Neighborhood principles.
The enhanced public and civic life associated with Great Neighborhoods creates what
planners call “eyes on the street.” That is to say, when people watch out for their neighbors,
crime simply has fewer opportunities to happen. Also, Great Neighborhoods create quality
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public spaces (including sidewalks and streets as well as parks and squares) where kids and
teens can congregate and play legitimately, in contrast to the marginal spaces where young
people congregate in typical suburban settings – behind buildings, in unused lots, and so
forth. In this way, Great Neighborhoods make the task of supervising them both more
efficient and less intrusive.
There are many other groups that stand to benefit from the implementation of Great
Neighborhoods principles. A few among these include: affordable housing advocates, school
bus companies, environmentalists, farm advocates, transit advocates, and preservationists.
The list goes on and on.
As more and more citizens begin to grasp that Great Neighborhoods are not only in their
interest, but that building them is possible, the voices advocating for them will grow in
numbers and volume.
IN SHORT …
Recognizing that Great Neighborhoods are worth preserving and creating is only the first
step. Making them happen takes concerted efforts on the part of citizens, the private sector,
and the public sector. Today, most of the mechanisms for developing land make it easiest to
do conventional subdivisions and shopping malls at the urban fringe. The challenge before
all of us is to steer all of that towards a more balanced situation, in which people who want
to create and live in Great Neighborhoods have that choice.
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APPENDIX A – ENERGY EFFICIENCY FOR GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS
How to make your home more comfortable

Cold floors, drafts and high energy bills make winter unbearable. But the right
improvements can ease the effects of cold and wind. Comfort depends on how your
home, weather conditions and you interact. Learn how this interaction works. Then select
projects that enhance winter comfort and reduce energy bills.
Where the heat goes

Some heat is lost through the exterior of the house. Wall and ceiling insulation reduces
the loss. Heat also escapes through air leaks. During cold weather, your house acts
like a chimney. Heated air leaks out at the top and cold outside air leaks in at the bottom
to replace it. Insulation won’t stop these leaks. They must be properly sealed.
Ventilation and air leaks

Proper attic ventilation prevents moisture buildup in the insulation and roof structure.
Roof and soffit vents allow air to flow through the attic and remove moisture. Ventilation
supplies fresh outside air to maintain healthy living spaces. Some ventilation systems
are designed to pre-heat and pre-cool the air coming into your home. Fresh air for most
homes is provided by air leaks. Unfortunately, the rate of air leakage can vary widely from
season to season. Many homes have too much ventilation from air leaks in the winter
and not enough ventilation in the spring and fall. The greatest air leakage occurs during
the coldest temperatures and the highest winds. To prevent cold drafts and reduce energy
costs, most new homes are tightly sealed. Ventilation systems exhaust stale air and control
the flow of fresh air. Older homes are difficult to seal. A special device called a “blower
door” locates hidden air leaks so they can be sealed.
To increase comfort, reduce energy use and enhance safety at home:

• Seal air leaks.
• Insulate to recommended levels.
• Maintain heating, cooling and water heating systems.
Seal air leaks

The largest leaks often happen in unseen places:
• Through interior walls where the top plate is missing.
• Around chimneys and plumbing vent stacks.
• Where the inside edges of knee walls meet attic floors.
Blower-door testing helps locate hidden leaks and bypasses. Seal these leaks with caulking,
sheet metal or densely packed insulation. Leaky ducts in a forced air heating system can
also reduce comfort. These leaks can result in cold spots and rooms that are hard to heat.
A contractor using a blower door and duct tester can locate and seal duct leaks. Ducts
should be sealed with waterbased duct sealants or butyl-backed foil tape.
To conduct a blower-door test, a special fan is mounted in an exterior doorway. The fan
draws air out of the house to simulate the effects of a strong wind. This makes air leaks
easier to find and seal. Contractors measure the amount of air leakage and then locate and
seal the hidden air and ductwork leaks.
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Insulate
Insulate after sealing large air leaks. Increase insulation levels to R-38 in the attic, R-11 in
the wall cavities and R-19 in basement sillboxes. Walls and attics are important because
they represent the largest surfaces for heat loss. Crawlspaces and heated basements can
also be insulated to improve comfort and save money. Contact MGE for recommended
insulation levels, appropriate materials and installation techniques.
Maintain heating and cooling equipment

Some conditions may cause a furnace or water heater to backdraft combustion gases into
the house. Prolonged exposure to these gases can cause severe health problems. To prevent
backdrafting problems:
• Have the furnace and water heater inspected regularly
• Have the furnace and water heater tested for backdrafting after any major remodeling.
Air conditioners should also be checked regularly to maintain efficiency.
ENERGY STAR® Products

ENERGY STAR® labeled products use less energy than other products. They reduce your
energy costs and help to protect the environment. Learn more about qualifying products
at www.energystar.gov or call the MGE Home Energy Line at 608.252.7117.
Home Performance with ENERGY STAR®

Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® can help you increase your comfort and
decrease your energy bills. It’s offered by Focus on Energy, a statewide initiative to
improve energy efficiency. MGE is a partner in Focus on Energy. A trained Home
Performance consultant evaluates your home for a reasonable fee. The consultant
discusses the evaluation and makes recommendations for energy-saving improvements.
You get an unbiased analysis of your home’s overall performance. Have questions? Call the
Focus on Energy Information Center at 800.762.7077 or go to www.focusonenergy.org.
Home Energy Saver

Use an online home energy audit to calculate your energy use and identify the best ways
to save money. The Home Energy Saver was developed by Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory. It is part of the national ENERGY STAR® program to help improve energy
efficiency in homes. To try out an online energy audit go to: www.homeenergysaver.lbl.gov.
Visit MGE’s Website

MGE offers a library of energy information at www.mge.com.
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Energy Saving Tips
Incorporate as many of these specific energy saving tips as you can to make your home
more comfortable and save money too.
Winter drafts Benefit

Seal around sewer vent pipe in basement Save on heating costs.
and attic. Use fireproof sealant around the
chimney in attic.
Replace missing storm windows or Improve comfort and reduce condensation.
install inside plastic film. Save 2% to 7%.
Keep windows tightly latched. Improve comfort and security.
Use fireplaces only in the early fall or late Save money and improve comfort. Prevent
spring when not using your furnace. Close the heat loss.
fireplace damper after the fire is out.
Cover wall-mounted air conditioners with Reduce air infiltration.
plastic film or air-tight cover.
Heating Benefit
Keep the thermostat at 68ºF or below. Save on heating costs.
Lower thermostat at night and when you’re Save 1% during setback time period for every
gone (55ºF lowest setting). 1ºF decrease in temperature.
*If we all turn our thermostats back just one degree in the winter,
we can save enough gas for 3,200 homes.
Wear warm clothes to stay comfortable at Improve comfort.
lower thermostat settings.
Check furnace filter monthly; replace as needed. Improve furnace efficiency by increasing airflow.
Tune up heating system at least every other year. Save money and improve safety.
Keep registers and cold-air returns clear of Improve comfort and system efficiency.
furniture and drapes.
Open drapes to allow sun in. Close at night. Save money and improve comfort.
Cooling Benefit
Set the thermostat to 78ºF or higher. Save 1% for every 1ºF increase in thermostat
setting when unit is running.
*If we all reduced our air conditioner use by just 10%, we could
save enough coal to fill 60 railroad cars.
Turn off the air conditioner when no one is Save 17 to 44 cents per hour for central units.
home. Use a programmable thermostat for Save 8 to 17 cents per hour for room units.
central air or a timer for room air conditioners
to start cooling before you get home.
Use a whole house fan, room fans or ceiling fans Reduce cooling costs.
instead of air-conditioning. Room or ceiling
fans can also allow you to be comfortable at a
warmer air-conditioning setting.
If buying a dehumidifier, look for an Save money.
ENERGY STAR® model.
Have air conditioner serviced. Operate more efficiently.
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Shade your windows:
• Close drapes, shades and blinds during the day. Save money. Reduce heat from direct sunlight.
• Use reflective or white-backed shades on Keep heat out of house.
south and west sides. Exterior shading from
awnings or trellises is even better.
• Plant deciduous shade trees to the east, south Reduce cooling costs.
and west of the home.
Cook outside or use your microwave. Reduce cooling costs.
Change furnace filter every one to two months Reduce cooling and dehumidification costs.
if you have central air. Improve airflow.
Use exhaust fans to remove heat and moisture Reduce cooling and dehumidification.
produced from cooking costs and showering. Improve indoor air quality.
Keep registers and cold-air returns clear of Improve comfort and system efficiency.
furniture and drapes.
Lighting Benefit
Replace the most-used incandescent with Use less than one-third the energy.
fluorescent bulbs and fixtures.
*If we all take this step we can save 44 million pounds of coal a year.
Install solid-state dimmer switches for Save energy.
incandescent lights.
Use photo-eyes, motion detectors and timers Keep your house cooler. 100 watts for 10
to turn lights on and off. Turn lights off when hours = 8 cents.
not in use.
Replace halogen torchieres with ENERGY Save 2 to 4 cents per hour. Keep your home
STAR® fluorescent torchieres. The 300- to cooler.
500-watt halogen bulbs can reach 1,000ºF!
Keep bulbs and fixtures clean. Get more light.
Appliances Benefit
Switch from an electric to a natural gas dryer. Reduce drying costs by more than 55%.
*If we all make the switch, we can save more than 60 million pounds of coal per year.
Cook in a microwave oven rather than stove. Heat the food faster with less energy.
Use cold water to wash clothes. Save 12 to 25 cents per load.
*If we all take this step with every load, we can save 17 million pounds of coal per year.
If dryer is vented with plastic vent hose, Reduce drying costs. Prevent dryer fires.
replace with metallic vent pipe.
Run the dishwasher at night. Reduce cooling costs and daytime humidity.
Wash a full load of dishes in the dishwasher. Save hot water, electricity and detergent.
Use the dishwasher’s air-dry or energy-saver cycle. Save up to 8 cents per drying cycle.
Hang laundry outside to dry. Save 8 to 11 cents per load for a gas dryer or
27 to 32 cents per load for an electric dryer.
Clean the clothes dryer lint trap after each load. Dry faster and safer and save money.
Turn off TV, radio and stereo when not at home. Save electricity and keep your home cooler.
Vacuum in the early morning or evening. Save electricity and keep your home cooler.
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Refrigerator Benefit
When you’re ready to buy a new refrigerator, Save money and energy.
purchase an ENERGY STAR® model.
*If we all take this step, we can save more than 45 million pounds of coal per year.
Unplug second refrigerator if not needed. Save $5 to $15 per month.
Defrost refrigerator when the ice gets over Save energy.
1/4-inch thick.
Water heaters, pools and spas Benefit
Replace shower heads made before 1994. Save water and reduce water-heating costs.
Set water heater at 120ºF to 125ºF. Save money and prevent scalding.
Insulate pre-1990 water heaters, especially Recover the cost in six months.
electric.
Fix leaky faucets. Use faucet aerators. Save water and energy.
Insulate the first 5 feet of cold water pipes and Use precut tubes, it’s easy, and payback is less
all hot water pipes. Start 3 inches above the than five years.
vent opening.
Turn water heater control down to vacation or Save about $4 per week.
pilot setting when gone for two or more days.
Use a pool cover. Cut heat loss 70% to 90%.
Keep pool heater thermostat at lowest Save money.
comfortable setting.
Operate pool and spa filters 10 to 12 hours per Cut filtration energy cost in half.
night on a timer.
Convert electric pool heater to natural gas Cut cost by 50% or more.
or solar.
Major appliance Benefit
purchases/remodeling
Replace refrigerators manufactured before Save $70 to $135 per year.
1990 with new ENERGY STAR® models.
Insulate and ventilate attic. Insulate walls. Save money and be more comfortable.
Purchase an ENERGY STAR® air conditioner. Save energy and money.
Choose a natural gas range instead of an Save energy and money.
electric one.
*If we all take this step, we could save 27 million pounds of coal per year
Home office equipment Benefit
Buy ENERGY STAR® monitors, printers and Save money and reduce heat produced.
computers. Use low-power features.
Shut off equipment that’s not in use. Save money and reduce heat produced.
Use energy-efficient lights. Save money and reduce heat produced.
64

APPENDIX B – RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS
Wisconsin Focus on Energy is a resource to find out about how you may incorporate
renewable energy into your home or business. The following information comes from
their website and can be found at www.focusenergy.com.
Considering Renewable Energy for Your Home or Business

Many people are interested in using renewable energy to meet their home or business
energy needs, but sometimes the process is not clear and people don’t know where to turn
for help. Use the steps below as a guide, to help you discover whether renewable energy
can work for you.
1. Learn all about it.

It is important to be an educated consumer. Find out as much information as you need to
feel comfortable with your energy decision. To learn more about renewable energy events
and trainings in your area visit the Focus on Energy Web site at www.focusonenergy.com
or call the Focus on Energy information center at 800.762.7077. For hands-on learning,
workshops offered by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) are held
around the state. These workshops cover everything from tips on living with renewable
energy to detailed technical information. You can find the MREA course catalog at
www.the-mrea.org or by calling 715.592.6595 for a catalog.
2. Get a site assessment.

The best way to find out whether you have a good location for renewable energy
is to have a site assessment. A site assessment will bring an expert to your site to
evaluate and provide a basic analysis of your energy needs, evaluate renewable energy
resource availability at your location, provide energy efficient suggestions and make
recommendations on specific renewable energy systems that are right for you. A site
assessment also provides information on the best place to locate a system and offers a
general cost estimate – all summarized in a report. A site assessment is helpful for any type
of renewable energy installation but a necessity when looking to install a wind system.
Contact Focus on Energy to arrange for a site assessment.
3. Call an installer; get estimates.

Finding a reputable installer can be as easy as visiting the Wisconsin Renewable Energy
Yellow Pages online at the Focus on Energy Web site. The Yellow Pages allow you to find a
contractor near you and select lists of full-service installers who provide a whole package
of design, equipment, installation and maintenance services for solar and wind energy
systems. A good contractor will also help you through steps 4 through 6 in the process.
It is best to get more than one installation estimate. An estimate should include the cost
of hardware, shipping, installation and connecting to the utility grid, travel and sales
tax. Remember, the lowest price is not always the best price. If available, have bids for
photovoltaic systems specify the system capacity in AC (alternating current) watts.
This will allow you to compare the cost per watt of each estimate and the estimated
amount of energy the system will actually produce on an annual basis, measured in
kilowatt-hours. If considering a solar water heater, compare the cost for the expected
amount of hot water produced per year. Many people may think about installing their
own system. Unless you have applicable experience in all aspects of renewable energy
system installations, hire a professional.
65

4. Check zoning, utility requirements, insurance and other legalities.
Your renewable energy system installation will need to comply with the zoning and
building codes of the county, city, village or town where the installation will be located.
Permits may not be needed until you are ready to do the work. Many installers may even
get the permits for you. If you choose to connect your renewable energy system to the
utility grid, contact your electric utility for an interconnection application at the early
stages of the project. (See Madison Gas and Electric’s resources for Customer-Owned
Parallel Generation Systems on opposite page.) Wisconsin utilities are required to connect
a renewable energy, electric-generating installation to its utility system. Except for rural
electric cooperatives, Wisconsin utilities are also required to buy your excess electricity
for the same price that you pay the utility for electricity, if your system is less than 20
kilowatts. It is also important to contact your insurance agent to be certain the proposed
renewable energy system is covered by your homeowners liability insurance policy.
Other legalities might include contacting your homeowners association or checking
neighborhood covenants. A covenant that does not allow solar or wind renewable energy
systems is against the law in Wisconsin, but there may be additional specifications for your
area. State law prohibits restrictions on plotted land that unduly restricts the construction
and operation of solar and wind energy systems. The Focus on Energy program can assist
you in overcoming many issues that could arise.
5. Secure financing.
There are several places to turn for funding your renewable energy system. Many people
do not realize that financing for a renewable energy home project might come from
a home equity loan. A capital improvement loan may apply for commercial projects.
Another option for your business is to lease a solar hot water system. In this case, the solar
hot water contractor would install and maintain the system at their expense, while your
lease provides the solar heated water. You can contact Focus on Energy to see whether
your project qualifies for a Cash-Back Reward, implementation grant, or low-interest
rate loan to help offset project costs. Be sure to apply for any Focus on Energy incentives
before purchasing equipment or signing a contract with an installer. Wisconsin allows
a property tax exemption for renewable energy equipment, so your renewable energy
system will not affect your property tax bill.
6. Learn how to maintain your system — safely.

Ask your installer to give detailed, written instructions on how to maintain your system
properly and safely. Keep an eye on metering systems and utility bills to be sure your
system functions effectively and efficiently. You might also ask your installer how you
can perform simple troubleshooting or maintenance, such as greasing moving parts on a
wind turbine. Be sure to learn basic safety requirements and procedures, like how to shut
down the system in emergencies such as a flood or other situations that could damage the
system; and how to power up the system after it has been shut down.
7. Enjoy saving money and energy.

Congratulations! After your initial investment, you will start seeing money and energy
savings on your utility bill. You also have a source of pride that produces energy without
additional fuel costs, noise or air pollution, and you’re doing your part to protect
Wisconsin’s environment.
66

Connecting to Your Local Electric Grid
Madison Gas and Electric offers special rates for customer-owned electric generation
systems. The following section can also be found at www.mge.com/home/rates/cust_gen.htm.
Customer-Owned (Parallel) Generation

Customers can receive credit on their MGE utility bills for the electricity they produce
from their own renewable energy system or generator that exceeds the amount of
electricity they use from MGE’s distribution system.
If you are planning to purchase your own parallel generation system and intend to
connect it to MGE’s electricity distribution system, please contact:
Jeff Ford
Madison Gas Electric Co.
Post Office Box 1231
Madison, WI 53701-1231
800-245-1125
We’ll review your application, inspect your system, test the protection equipment and set
up the metering. If you have questions about the application, rates or systems, contact
jford@mge.com.
For more information

Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program (www.wifocusonenergy.com)
can help with the system design, finding contractors and financing the system. Wisconsin
utility customers fund this program through charges on their utility bills.
The U.S. Department of Energy has created consumers’ guides on small wind electric
systems and solar photovoltaic systems available at:
www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/factsheets.html.
The Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy is a comprehensive source of

information on state, local, utility, and selected federal incentives that promote renewable
energy. Visit http://www.dsireusa.org and click on Wisconsin on the map.
67

ENDNOTES
1
Linking Vision with Capital: Challenges and Opportunities in Financing Smart Growth, Research Institute for
Housing America, Institute Report No. 01-01, by Robert W. Burchell and David Listokin, Center for Urban
Policy Research, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers, The State University
of New Jersey. Per dwelling unit savings include $5,792 in housing costs, $1,325 in local road costs, $964 in
fiscal impacts, and the remaining savings from cost reductions in non-residential costs, land, state roads,
and water and sewer laterals.
2
Robert Burchell, “Economic and Fiscal Costs and Benefits of Sprawl,” The Urban Lawyer (1997). Jeffrey
Dorfman, et al, “The Economic Costs of Development for Local Government,” University of Georgia (2002),
3
Dane County Regional Planning Commission, U.S. Census.
4
Assessing the impact of urban form measures in nonwork trip mode choice after controlling for demographic and
level-of-service effects, Jayanthi Rajamani, Chandra R. Bhat, Susan Handy, Gerritt Knaap, and Yan Song, TRB
2003: Submitted for Presentation and Publication August 1, 2002.
5
Relationship Between Urban Sprawl and Physical Activity, Obesity, and Morbidity, Reid Weing, Tom Schmid,
Richard Killingsworth, Amy Zlot, and Stephen Raudenbush, American Journal of Health Promotion,
September, 2003.
6
Dane County Regional Planning Commission and U.S. Census.
7
Witold Rybczynski. Looking Around: A Journey Through Architecture. (Penguin Books, New York: 1992), p. 78.
8
Zimmerman/Volk Associates (ZVA) analyzed demographic data, in- and out-migration figures for the
county, housing turn-over rates (how often people move), and the housing preferences of different types of
households. They used this data to determine the full range of household types that will likely be looking
for a place to live in an area including the three sites.
9
Dane County Regional Plan Commission, 2000 Land Use Inventory. Right-of-way includes sidewalks and
street terraces.
10
Ray Oldenberg. “Our Vanishing Third Places.” Planning Commissioner Journal: 25 (Winter, 1997).
11
“Back to Basics.” Urban Land (February 2003).
12
“Main Street Survey Shows Strength in American Communities,” 2002 Main Street Trends Survey, National
Main Street Center press release, http://www.mainstreet.org/index.htm
13
National Main Street Center. Over the past 22 years, Main Street revitalization efforts have created 227,000
jobs and 56,000 businesses and have saved 89,000 historic buildings all across the country.
14
Warrick and Alexander, “Looking for Hometown America.” Quoted from the American LIVES survey, 1995.
15
Raising the Bar: Town Centers are Outperforming Traditional Suburban Real Estate Products, Charles
Lockwood, Urban Land, February 2003.
16
Commercial Market Study: State Street Corridor, Madison, Wisconsin, Prepared for JJR, Inc., by Gibbs
Planning Group, April 22, 1999.
17
Paris Rutherford. “Reinventing Suburbia.” Urban Land (July 2002).
18
New Urbanism: Comprehensive Report and Best Practices. Quote from Robert Tiscareno of LMN Architects.
19
Reid Ewing. Best Development Practices.
20
Peter Swift, Richard A. Hall, and Rick Chellman, “Context Driven Street Design,” audio seminar, (March 18, 2003).
21
AASHTO, “A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets,” (2001).
22
UW Extension, “A Model Ordinance for a Traditional Neighborhood Development, ” (2000).
23
The 2002 Summary of Safe Routes to School Programs in the US, Surface Transportation Policy Project,
Washington, D.C.
24
www.cdc.gov
68

GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS GLOSSARY
Aquifer: A geological formation, group of formations, or part of a formation capable of yielding, storing, or
transmitting a usable amount of groundwater to wells or springs for human and animal consumption.
“American Dream:” A post World War II, pop culture inspired ideal of American life that features a
nuclear family in a single-family house set on a large lawn in a development pattern that necessitates auto-
dependent lifestyles.
Apartment Buildings: (also referred to as multi-family units) Buildings that come in a range of sizes and shapes
but typically have one common entrance for the residence of multiple families.
Auto-Dependent: Development that is separated from other developed areas, by distance or barriers such as
streets unfriendly to walking or bicycling, such that it precludes travel by modes other than motor vehicles.
Blocks: The aggregate of lots and tracts, circumscribed by streets; A critical element in neighborhood
development relating to walkability.
Building Code: The State of Wisconsin has a uniform dwelling code that must be followed for the construction
and inspection of all one- and two-family dwellings in the state. Local communities in the state have enforcement
responsibilities related to the code, which can be found in the Administrative Rules for the Department of
Commerce.
Civic Buildings: Any building held, used, or controlled exclusively for public purposes by any department or
branch of government, state, county, or municipal entity.
Civic Center: An area developed, or to be developed, with any of the following public buildings or uses: offices,
libraries, playgrounds, parks, assembly halls, police stations, fire stations.
Civic Plaza: a public space at the intersection of important streets set aside for civic purposes and commercial
activities; A plaza is circumsized by frontages, its landscape consists of durable pavement for parking and trees
requiring little maintenance.
Civic Squares: a public space, seldom larger than a block, at the intersection of important streets; A square is
circumscribed by frontages, its streetscape consists of paved walks, lawns, trees, and civic buildings all formally
disposed and requiring substantial maintenance.
Cluster Development: A development design technique that concentrates buildings in specific areas on a site
to allow remaining land to be used for recreation, common open space, or the preservation of historically or
environmentally sensitive features.
Compact Development: The development of buildings, parking areas, streets, driveways, and public spaces in a
way that maximizes proximity and connectivity, which facilitates alternative transportation choices.
Commercial Use: A business use or activity at a scale greater than a home industry involving marketing of goods
and services.
Condominium: A form of property ownership in which each owner holds title to his/her individual unit, plus a
fractional interest in the common areas of the multi-unit project. Each owner pays taxes on his/her property and
is free to sell or lease the unit.
Corridor: A broad geographical band with a directional flow of traffic and/or activities that may involve a
number of streets, highways, and transit route alignments. (There are also environmental, historic, mixed-use,
pedestrian, scenic, transportation, and wildlife corridors.)
Demographic: A statistic characterizing human populations (or segments of human populations broken down
by age or sex or income, etc.).
Density: The number of dwelling units permitted per net acre of land designated for residential or mixed-use,
exclusive of public right-of-ways.
69

Design Guidelines: Standards of appropriate construction activity that will preserve the character (e.g. historic
and architectural) of a structure or area.
Districts: A section or sections of a municipality within which certain regulations and requirements of various
combinations apply.
Duplexes: A house divided into two living units or residences, usually having separate entrances.
Edges: A dividing line; a border that can be created through a variety of design elements in the built
environment.
Fannie Mae: (refers to the Federal National Mortgage Association) Created to establish a secondary market for
home mortgages to extend ownership opportunities.
Federal Housing Administration: (FHA) A government agency whose primary purpose is to insure residential
mortgage loans.
First Places: Private spaces (e.g. homes).
Granny Flats (Accessory Apartments): A separate and complete dwelling unit that is contained on the same lot
as the structure of a single-family dwelling or business.
Great Neighborhoods: Refers to traditional neighborhood developments (TND), new-traditional development,

New Urbanism, transit oriented development (TOD), close-knit communities (CKC), and other development
patterns that promote walkable, diverse, safe and attractive mixed-use neighborhoods.
Household: All persons living in a housing unit regardless of whether they are related to the householder.
Housing Demand: A function of the price of services (rent/ownership), household income, the cost of
other goods and services, household preference/lifestyle stages, consumer expectations, and the number
of households in the market (also affected by the rate of household formation and the net migration of
households).
Housing Preference: Refers to what housing consumers desire in terms of housing type, location, amenities,
costs, etc.
Housing Trends: Change over time in housing preferences, and housing supply and demand in particular markets.
Housing Types: Refers to the variety of housing unit styles, such as single-family detached homes, duplexes,
townhouses, multi-family structures, mobile homes, manufactured housing, etc.
Housing Unit: A house, apartment, mobile home/manufactured housing, single room or group of rooms
occupied (or intended for occupancy) as separate living quarters. Occupants may be one person, one or more
families, or a group of unrelated persons who share living arrangements.
Infrastructure: Facilities and services needed to sustain industry, residential, commercial, and all other land use
activities, including water, sewer lines, and other utilities, streets and roads, communications, and public facilities
such as fire stations, parks, schools, etc.
Impact Fee: A payment of money imposed on development activity as a condition of granting development
approval in order to finance the facilities needed to service the new growth and development activity.
Live/Work Units: A rear yard, fully mixed-use building type with one dwelling above or behind a
commercial space.
Main Streets: Districts that accommodate a variety of commercial activities in conjunction with civic open
spaces and buildings in a denser, fully mixed-use part of a community; Within this district, the predominant
land and building use is commercial, but may include residential and workplace uses; Its location is along an
important street and draws customers primarily from surrounding neighborhoods.
70

Mixed Use Development: A single building containing more than one type of land use or a single
development of more than one building and use, where the different types of uses are in close proximity,
planned as a unified complimentary whole, and functionally integrated (also may share vehicular and
pedestrian access and parking areas).
Multi-Family Housing: A detached building designed and used exclusively as a dwelling by three or more
families occupying separate suites.
Natural/Scenic Features: Environmental or aesthetic characteristics, typically considered amenities. For instance,
natural features might include soil types, geology, slopes, vegetation, drainage patterns, aquifers, recharge areas,
climate, floodplains, aquatic life and wildlife.
Neighborhood: urbanized sectors that are compact, diverse and walkable; Neighborhoods provide for a balanced
set of activities: shopping, work, schooling, recreation and dwelling; It also provides housing for people with a
range of incomes.
Neighborhood Revitalization: Refers to activities with outcomes, often including redevelopment efforts, which
impart new life or activity, and increased economic value and exchange, into a neighborhood.
New Town Development: A community projected on a greenfield site with buildings for dwelling, shopping,
working, and schooling assembled on a neighborhood structure. Similar buildings, when assembled into single-
use districts, create Edge Cities.
New Urbanism: A development pattern that reintegrates the components of modern life – housing, workplace,
shopping and recreation – into compact, pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use neighborhoods linked by transit and set
in a larger regional open space framework.
NIMBYism: “Not in my backyard.” An attitude referring to resistance people have to siting locally unwanted land
uses near their residence, including prisons, hazardous waste facilities, landfills, power plants, etc.
Nodes: Points that are activity centers in the urban landscape created through transportation intersections and/
or design elements in the built environment.
Open Space: Any land or area, the preservation of which in its present use would: (1) conserve and enhance
natural or scenic resources; or (2) protect streams of water supply; or (3) promote conservation of soils,
wetlands, beaches, or tidal marshes; or (4) enhance the value to the public of abutting or neighboring parks,
forests, wildlife preserves, natural reservations, or sanctuaries; or (5) enhance opportunities for passive
enjoyment of public spaces.
Parks: Larger open areas, usually with lawns, trees, and user amenities; A noncommercial, public or not-for-
profit facility designed to serve the recreation needs of the residents of a community. (Such facilities include
neighborhood parks, community parks, regional parks and special use facilities among others.)
Pedestrian Shed: A theoretical area, typically surrounding a neighborhood activity center, representing the
distance most people are willing to walk to get to the center; A quarter-mile is used as a rule-of-thumb measure
for walkable distances. A generalized pedestrian shed would thus be a circle with a quarter mile radius, or
approximately 160 acres. In reality, the shape and size of pedestrian sheds is determined by the ease of walking
(barriers, street patterns, topography, activities) and the appeal of the destination (shorter to a neighborhood
park, longer to shopping or a transit stop).
Pedestrian-oriented Development: Development designed with an emphasis on the street sidewalk, walkability
and pedestrian access.
Public Transit: A system of regularly scheduled buses and/or trains available to the public on a fee-per-ride basis.
(Also called mass transit)
Residential: Premises available for long-term human habitation by means of ownership and rental, but excluding
short-term letting of less than a month’s duration.
Runoff: The rainfall, snowmelt, or irrigation water flowing that has not evaporated or infiltrated into the soil, but
flows over the ground surface; types include surface runoff, groundwater runoff, or seepage.
71

Second Places: Public spaces (e.g. parks).
Secondary Market: Mortgage lending markets into which originating lenders sell their loans to investors who are
seeking longer-term investments (such as “Fannie Mae”).
Single Family Houses: Housing types consisting of single dwelling units on their own lots with separate
entrances; Most single-family housing consists of stand-alone buildings (detached), some are attached such as
townhouses.
Squares: Open spaces that are typically a block in size, surrounded by streets and faced by building frontages such
that they are designed to function as ‘outdoor rooms’ (providing places to eat lunch, take a walk, or read a book).
Stormwater Management: Any stormwater management technique, apparatus or facility that controls or
manages the path, storage or rate of release of stormwater runoff. Such facilities may include storm sewers,
retention or detention basins, drainage channels, drainage swales, inlet or outlet structures, or other similar
facilities.
Street (Grid System): A street system based on a standard grid pattern (e.g. checkerboard blocks); however,
offset intersections, loop roads, and cul-de-sacs as well as angled or curved road segments may also be used on a
limited basis.
Street Hierarchy: A street layout that separates traffic routes passing through an area from streets that provide
access to people living within the area. The hierarchy forms the basis for a classification system and design
standards (e.g. residential access streets connect to residential collector streets, which connect to arterial streets
that connect to limited access highways or expressways.)
Subdivision Regulation: The control of the division of a tract of land by requiring development to meet the
design standards and procedures adopted by ordinance.
Suburban: Urban growth at the edge of, and dependent upon a city.
Third Places: A location that fulfills a necessary social role in between the private and public realms; a space that
balances the familiar with the anonymous (such as a café, pub, exercise club, etc.).
Traditional Neighborhood Development: A neighborhood that exhibits several of the following characteristics:
alleys, grid system streets, street oriented buildings, pedestrian-oriented, compatible, mixed land uses, village
squares and greens.
Transportation Choices: Refers to a range of alternatives aside from individual automobile use such as rail
transit, buses, trolleys, car pools, van pools, bicycling, and walking.
Townhouse (also referred to as “town homes” or “row houses”): A two-to-three-story single-family dwelling
unit, with a private entrance, that is attached to a row of similar single-family units in a linear arrangement
facing the street.
Town Center: It is a mixed-use area, of greater development intensity than the Main Street District; Its location
is along one or more principal arteries of the region and it encompasses more than one intersection and street; It
draws customers and employees regionally; and It includes living and public gathering space.
Two- and Three-Flats: Stand alone structures, often designed to resemble single-family housing, in which
separate living units are ‘stacked one on top of another.’
Urban: Urban areas are generally characterized by moderate and higher density residential development,
commercial development, and industrial development as well as public services including sewer and water.
Urban Context: Refers to the location, mass, and design of various urban components from buildings to
landscaping and street widths, etc.
Vest Pocket Park: A small open space in a Great Neighborhood with ‘softer features’ than a plaza, but similar
functions.
Zoning District: Any section or sections of a jurisdiction for which regulations govern land use, density, bulk,
height, and coverage of buildings.
72

Great Neighborhoods - How To Bring Them Home

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1kf covers prep.

indd 1 3/2/06 1:56:38 PM

(608) 261-9781 (608) 261-9781

1000 Friends of Wisconsin 1000 Friends of Wisconsin

(608) 259-1000 (608) 259-1000

1kf covers prep.indd 2 3/8/06 12:36:31 PM

1kf guts prep.indd 1 3/3/06 6:40:01 AM

CHAPTER 1: WHY GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS? ...7

CHAPTER 2: PEOPLE AND THEIR HOMES ...14

CHAPTER 3: A NEIGHBORHOOD IS MORE THAN HOMES: PLACES TO

CHAPTER 4: FITTING THE PIECES TOGETHER ...33

CHAPTER 5: MODERN LAND DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS – HOW WE GOT

CHAPTER 6: MAKING GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS HAPPEN – IT TAKES

Appendix A: Energy Efficiency for Great Neighborhoods ...60

Appendix B: Renewable Energy for Great Neighborhoods ...65

Great Neighborhoods Glossary ...69

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1kf guts prep.indd 3 3/2/06 1:07:56 PM

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We used to create walkable, diverse, safe and attractive – or great – neighborhoods as

This book is for you if:

GETTING THE MOST FROM GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS

1kf guts prep.indd 5 3/2/06 1:10:40 PM

1kf guts prep.indd 6 3/2/06 1:10:55 PM

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Great Neighborhoods reduce the costs of

A pleasing side effect of reducing

GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS MEET THE NEEDS OF ALL

1kf guts prep.indd 8 3/2/06 1:11:32 PM

Great Neighborhoods – both new and

the same neighborhood. Which is to say,

GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS GIVE

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Great Neighborhoods also make transit service

GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS PROMOTE HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

Recent research documented – for the first

1kf guts prep.indd 10 3/2/06 1:12:07 PM

While many Great Neighborhoods offer

Great Neighborhoods also integrate

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GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS SUPPORT EFFICIENT USE OF ENERGY

1kf guts prep.indd 12 3/2/06 1:12:37 PM

1kf guts prep.indd 13 3/2/06 1:12:49 PM

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By thinking about these

Singles and Young Couples

Families with younger children are

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Empty Nesters and Retirees

Children leaving home and retirement

DANE COUNTY HOUSING DEMAND: THREE CASE STUDIES

Housing Demand, by Household Type

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Single-family detached houses are

Townhouses (also called town homes or

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Duplexes, Two- and Three-flats fall between

Other Innovative (Yet Traditional)

Live-work units in Middleton Hills, Middleton, WI.

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Still another form of housing that meets

While many different types of housing