Within the context of our study, diversity of use refers to the overall land-use plan associated with the design of the development. Developments that embrace a diversity of use are often referred to as mixed-use developments or they have designated a portion of the development as mixed-use.
In order to measure a development’s level of diversity of use, empirical formulas don’t provide a clear methodology for determining the diversity of a development. Utilizing analytical methods helps to determine how diverse the use of land is and what level of sustainability the development can expect to achieve.
The normative qualities that can be applied to the study of the diversity of use of a development are whether or not the development has been planned to provide for a comprehensive and complimentary land-use plan.
A comprehensive land-use plan details the scope of the intended uses that will be located within a development. Addressing the needs of all the residents and users of the development in order to promote the community’s sustainability involves the mixing of uses in order to ensure that goods and services will be readily available to all portions of the development.
These uses should be sited in a manner that is complimentary to one another to help promote pedestrian movement within the development as well as providing a safer environment by ensuring that there will be “eyes on the street”. Sprawl discourages the implementation of land-use plans that promote a diversity of uses and results in a higher reliance on the use of the private automobile.
The sustainable development that utilizes a comprehensive and complimentary use of the land encourages a higher level of social interaction within the development. The mixing of residential and commercial uses ensures that users can interact with each other in close proximity to their residences.
Often times, the mixed-use portion of the developments become one of the primary landmarks in the community due to the fact that every resident and user of the development engage in social interaction on a face-to-face basis within this portion. This inter-personal communication can only be achieved by siting complimentary uses in close proximity one another.
The reduction of environmental impacts through the implementation of a comprehensive and complimentary land-use plan help to ensure that the development will be able to achieve a higher level of sustainability than a typical sprawl-inspired development. The amount of land consumed in order to provide commercial uses within the development is one of the most significant advantages associated with the implementation of a comprehensive and complimentary land-use plan. Providing accessible open-spaces in which residents may engage and interact with the natural environment is another benefit of a sustainable land-use plan.
In order to measure a development’s level of diversity of use, empirical formulas don’t provide a clear methodology for determining the diversity of a development. Utilizing analytical methods helps to determine how diverse the use of land is and what level of sustainability the development can expect to achieve.
The normative qualities that can be applied to the study of the diversity of use of a development are whether or not the development has been planned to provide for a comprehensive and complimentary land-use plan.
A comprehensive land-use plan details the scope of the intended uses that will be located within a development. Addressing the needs of all the residents and users of the development in order to promote the community’s sustainability involves the mixing of uses in order to ensure that goods and services will be readily available to all portions of the development.
These uses should be sited in a manner that is complimentary to one another to help promote pedestrian movement within the development as well as providing a safer environment by ensuring that there will be “eyes on the street”. Sprawl discourages the implementation of land-use plans that promote a diversity of uses and results in a higher reliance on the use of the private automobile.
The sustainable development that utilizes a comprehensive and complimentary use of the land encourages a higher level of social interaction within the development. The mixing of residential and commercial uses ensures that users can interact with each other in close proximity to their residences.
Often times, the mixed-use portion of the developments become one of the primary landmarks in the community due to the fact that every resident and user of the development engage in social interaction on a face-to-face basis within this portion. This inter-personal communication can only be achieved by siting complimentary uses in close proximity one another.
The reduction of environmental impacts through the implementation of a comprehensive and complimentary land-use plan help to ensure that the development will be able to achieve a higher level of sustainability than a typical sprawl-inspired development. The amount of land consumed in order to provide commercial uses within the development is one of the most significant advantages associated with the implementation of a comprehensive and complimentary land-use plan. Providing accessible open-spaces in which residents may engage and interact with the natural environment is another benefit of a sustainable land-use plan.
The economic development of a design that successfully promotes sustainability through its land-use plan will not only benefit the development itself, but the larger economic community as well. Through the implementation of a comprehensive and complimentary plan that ensures a diversity of uses, business owners can reduce operating costs and maximize profits by providing goods and services that will be essential to the development as well as more affordable to the residents due to the reduction of the cost of transportation that the consumers incur when obtaining these products in a sprawl-driven neighborhood design.
In the long run, men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, they had better aim at something high. -Henry David Thoreau
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