Intensity of Use
Intensity of use refers to the overall density of the development, specifically as to how the development utilizes the land. The empirical measurement of density for housing developments is expressed as housing units per acre of land. While the use of the empirical measurement of density will be important to our study, there are design factors that will need to be addressed when determining the sustainable qualities of the density of the four developments.
The siting of uses and their proximity to one another is one of the qualities that we will explore when assessing the intensity of use within each development. For analytical purposes two qualities have been identified when determining density within developments. The normative qualities associated with the intensity of use within the developments are whether or not the developments have been planned to be compact and consolidated in order to promote sustainability.
A compact and consolidated development promotes sustainability on multiple levels while addressing the three factors discussed earlier. Providing a compact and consolidated development encourages a higher level of social interaction between the residents and users of the development. Suburban sprawl actually deters social interaction between residents by siting residences on larger plots of land and lowering the overall density of a neighborhood.
Sprawl promotes this lower density due to the fact that individualism is the over-riding principle behind typical suburban development. A high-density development encourages and embraces the notion of civic pride; in that the uses are located within close proximity to each other and the residents feel that they not only live in the development but they are an integral part of the neighborhood and the overall development.
From an environmental standpoint, a compact and consolidated development consumes less land for the overall development and therefore reduces the negative impacts associated with sprawling development. This reduction of negative impacts is attributed to the encouragement of pedestrian forms of transportation in order to access portions of the development.
A truly sustainable higher-density development reduces the dependence on private automobile use thereby reducing the negative environmental impacts associated with automobile use. Suburban sprawl encourages the use of the private automobile through the implementation of low-density designs that separate uses and increase the distance required to travel in order to utilize different facilities.
This emphasis on individualism can be directly attributed to the ideals that capitalism was based upon, private ownership and individual freedoms. While these freedoms are essential for a capitalist economic system, it detracts from the democratic ideals of equality and civic pride.
Sustainable developments encourage economic diversity by providing a compact use of the land that reduces the cost of purchasing or renting a residence due to the fact that more residences may be located on a smaller amount of land.
The heart is the chief feature of a functioning mind. -Frank Lloyd Wright
Intensity of use refers to the overall density of the development, specifically as to how the development utilizes the land. The empirical measurement of density for housing developments is expressed as housing units per acre of land. While the use of the empirical measurement of density will be important to our study, there are design factors that will need to be addressed when determining the sustainable qualities of the density of the four developments.
The siting of uses and their proximity to one another is one of the qualities that we will explore when assessing the intensity of use within each development. For analytical purposes two qualities have been identified when determining density within developments. The normative qualities associated with the intensity of use within the developments are whether or not the developments have been planned to be compact and consolidated in order to promote sustainability.
A compact and consolidated development promotes sustainability on multiple levels while addressing the three factors discussed earlier. Providing a compact and consolidated development encourages a higher level of social interaction between the residents and users of the development. Suburban sprawl actually deters social interaction between residents by siting residences on larger plots of land and lowering the overall density of a neighborhood.
Sprawl promotes this lower density due to the fact that individualism is the over-riding principle behind typical suburban development. A high-density development encourages and embraces the notion of civic pride; in that the uses are located within close proximity to each other and the residents feel that they not only live in the development but they are an integral part of the neighborhood and the overall development.
From an environmental standpoint, a compact and consolidated development consumes less land for the overall development and therefore reduces the negative impacts associated with sprawling development. This reduction of negative impacts is attributed to the encouragement of pedestrian forms of transportation in order to access portions of the development.
A truly sustainable higher-density development reduces the dependence on private automobile use thereby reducing the negative environmental impacts associated with automobile use. Suburban sprawl encourages the use of the private automobile through the implementation of low-density designs that separate uses and increase the distance required to travel in order to utilize different facilities.
This emphasis on individualism can be directly attributed to the ideals that capitalism was based upon, private ownership and individual freedoms. While these freedoms are essential for a capitalist economic system, it detracts from the democratic ideals of equality and civic pride.
Sustainable developments encourage economic diversity by providing a compact use of the land that reduces the cost of purchasing or renting a residence due to the fact that more residences may be located on a smaller amount of land.
The heart is the chief feature of a functioning mind. -Frank Lloyd Wright
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