cabe this way to better residential streets
TRANSCRIPT
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Summary
This way to better
residential streets
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Published in 2009 by the Commission or
Architecture and the Built Environment.
Graphic design: Draught Associates.
Printed by Blackmore Ltd on Revive recycled paper.
Blackmore Ltd holds ISO14001 environmental
accreditation.
Cover image: Accordia, Cambridge
David Millington Photography.
All rights reserved. No part o this publication
maybe reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
copied or transmitted without the prior written
consent o the publisher except that t he material
may be photocopied or non-commercial purposes
without permission rom the publisher.
CABE is the governments advisor on architecture,
urban design and public space. As a public body,
we encourage policymakers to create places that
work or people. We help local planners apply
national design policy and advise developers
and architects, persuading them to put peoples
needs rst. We show public sector clients how to
commission buildings that meet the needs o their
users. And we seek to inspire the public to demand
more rom their buildings and spaces. Advising,infuencing and inspiring, we work to create well
designed, welcoming places.
CABE Space is a specialist unit within CABE
that aims to bring excellence to the design,
management and maintenance o parks and
public space in our towns and cities.
CABE
1 Kemble Street
London WC2B 4AN
T 020 7070 6700
F 020 7070 6777
www.cabe.org.uk
This document is availablein alternative ormats onrequest rom the publisher.
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Introduction
This brieng ollows This way to better streets(2007), in which CABE Space looked at the
design o 10 streets rom town centres to ringroads and beyond. Here, we ocus on the designo residential streets in new developments.
For the past 50 years we have thought only othe car, in eect providing parking spaces andaccess routes or drivers between home and theoutside world. Things have to change we mustnot let the car dominate when a well designedstreet can help create sustainable communities,enable people to get around, promote walking andcycling, civic pride and identity, provide sae play
or children and allow the community to interact.
So improving residential streets is an imperative.The case studies that eature in this briengshow that there are big improvements still to bemade. New neighbourhoods are not connectingwell with existing towns and cities. Their design isnot suciently inclusive to oer a great place tolive or all residents. They do nonetheless includesome eatures and approaches that work well,providing useul guidance or uture developments.
The case studies in this
brieing show that there
are big improvements still
to be made in street design
DavidMillingtonPhotography
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The case studies
Five case studies eature
in this brieng:
You can see the ull studies at :
www.cabe.org.uk/casestudies
1 Gun Whar, Plymouth2 Upton, Northampton3 Charlton Down, near Dorchester4 Crown Street, Glasgow5 Accordia, Cambridge
2 5
4
3
Case study Description Finding
Gun Whar, Plymouth Small urban redevelopment with
signicant site constraints
Even small developments can
create streets with character
Upton, Northampton A new extension or the centreo Northampton
A ear o through trachinders neighbourhoods
connecting together
Charlton Down, near Dorchester A residential development in
a rural setting
A resh approach to rural expansion
but limited by an isolated location
Crown Street, Glasgow Bringing a street network back to
replace 1960s tower blocks
Thinking big has its benets
in street design
Accordia, Cambridge An inner-suburban
high-density development
New ideas in designing streets
and layout can give a real senseo place
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Neighbourhoods and
communities learning
rom the past
Residential design is moving away rom
the cul-de-sac but still needs to learn rom
tried and tested street types to createwell-structured neighbourhoods.
Ideas or designing new streets should come romstreets in our towns and cities which have provedsuccessul over time. There is a range o recognisablestreet types based on a variety o standard patterns,such as Georgian streets and squares, mewsand Victorian and Edwardian terraced grids.
Each type is based on some common conventions ront doors ace onto the street (oten through
a ront garden), and a back door on to a gardenwhich backs onto another back garden so privateand public space is clearly dened. Each newdevelopment became part o a wider network ostreets. This allowed our towns and cities to growin a connected way, supporting local shops andservices and giving residents greater choice.
These residential street types were successul overtime. However, they became much less commonater the Second World War when a regulatory
approach that prioritised vehicle movement came
to dominate. Since then, development has beensupported by a much smaller range o streettypes, perhaps most commonly, the cul-de-sac.
The cul-de-sac solves specic problems such asenabling the intensive development o browneldsites that have only a single point o access. However,when repeated across neighbourhoods it ails tocreate a connected network or to integrate newand existing neighbourhoods. Instead cul-de-sacscreate places that are disconnected, inward lookingand where people have car dependent liestyles.
A close look at the case studies reveals a range otypes o street and connected networks being usedto structure new residential neighbourhoods. Someuse modern interpretations o traditional types ostreet, such as the mews in Accordia leading o amain spine street, and the wide ormal Georgianstreet in Crown Street. In Charlton Down there is arange o streets and spaces including small squares,lanes and connecting walkways. In Upton, a new typeo street containing a wide swale down the centresuggests how to manage water in new developments.
StephenMcLaren
StephenMcLaren
Front doors in Charlton Down ace onto streets and
overlook small squares. This basic convention creates
spaces that are understood by residents and visitors
In Upton, a new type o street containing a wide swale
down the centre suggests how to manage water in
new developments
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tephenMcLaren
Neighbourhoods and
communities inding
your way around
Too many neighbourhoods make it hard or
people to nd their way around, lack character
and eature spaces where ownership isambiguous. This threatens their long-term
sustainability, because they do not work well
and are not seen as attractive places to live.
Streets structured around established designconventions and combined with specic usesand designs or corner properties (oten shopsor pubs) created neighbourhoods wherepeople could nd their way around easily.
Each o the case studies has eatures that help
people nd their way around. At both CrownStreet and Accordia it is clear what is a mainstreet and what are side streets or mews ( in thecase o Accordia). In Crown Street you can seewhere you should walk, what is public space, andwhere cars are meant to park. It works well as amodern take on the citys tradition o tenementhousing. And it is on a large enough scale tocreate a clear character or the Gorbals area.
Both Charlton Down and Gun Whar show how a
development can build on its location. Charlton Downuses much o the mature planting on the site, andviews o the countryside out rom the site, to createpoints o reerence. These eatures are enclosed insmall squares and in views along streets. Gun Wharuses the huge historic walls o the dockyard to deneit on two o its sides, and makes best use o theviews down to the circus and the estuary beyond.
Accordia has been designed in sympathy with thecharacter o its suburban setting, or example in
respect to the massing o the housing on the mainroad, and its use o brick that resembles the localCambridge stock. At the same time it has a strongcharacter o its own through among other things the bold orm o the housing blocks and the careuldetailing o ront doors and garage entrances.
However, visitors would not be clear whether thelandscaped gardens between the blocks o housesare public or private spaces. Accordia is aimed atthe wealthy end o the market and the residentsmay be able to pay or these spaces to be
well maintained. However experience romelsewhere suggests that conused spaceis oten unused and prone to neglect.
Gun Whar makes best use o the views down
to the circus and the estuary beyond
Space that is
conused is oten
unused and prone
to neglect
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Neighbourhoods and
communities designing
or a range o uses
None o the schemes support the range o
shops and services that you would expect to
nd in a traditional urban neighbourhood.
In the past, streets played a wide variety o roles.They provided access, social space, and play spacesor children who could explore the wider networko neighbourhood streets and spaces as they gotolder. They also supported commercial activity.
The increase in car ownership in the 1960splaced street design rmly in the arena o tracengineers. Their brie was to keep trac moving,reduce casualties and separate residential trac
rom through trac. Trac engineers adoptedthe practice o segregation (o pedestriansand vehicles) and standardisation o streetdesign on one main criterion vehicle fow.
It took a long time to realise the problems withthis approach. CABEs research1 has shownthat vehicle-dominated layouts continue to bethe norm. This research also highlighted that inthe eyes o the residents, such places ailed toencourage a strong sense o community, gave ew
opportunities or children to play, had inadequatespace or parking, (while cars oten dominatedthe street) and provided little opportunity towalk - within the development or beyond.
Our neighbourhoods have, as a result, becomepurely residential. Extensions to villages, townsand cities are eectively creating enclaves withoutaccess to acilities or the vibrancy to support them.
Recently there has been a signicant change inguidance or building residential streets. Manualfor Streets, launched by Department or Transportand Communities and Local Government in2007, places well-designed streets at the hearto sustainable communities. (MS, p7)
The case studies show that designers are exploringhow to create streets that accommodate a range ouses and users. One strategy is to design spaceswhere a range o things could happen.
The aim is to design inclusive streets ratherthan spaces or vehicle movement. The approachat Gun Whar shows this in a very ecient way the streets and central area support a range o
activities or most people play, sitting, socialising,getting around, parking and access to homes.The scheme works because the basic designelements work. These elements include:
the proportions o the streets and central spacethe sense o enclosurethe positioning o windows tooer views over the streetthe variety o places to socialise or playthe bespoke design o the space rather
than relying on o-the-shel equipmentthe high-quality materialsthe lack o signs dictating how you shouldor should not use specic areas.
1 CABE (2007) A sense of place; CABE (2007)Housing audit
CABEs research
has shown that
vehicle-dominated
layouts continue
to be the norm
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Our neighbourhoods
have become purely
residential. Extensions
to villages, towns and
cities are delivering
enclaves without
access to acilitiesor the vibrancy to
support them
StephenMcLaren
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Neighbourhoods and
communities parking
Designers rely too heavily on limited parking
solutions, especially rear parking courts,
and are ailing to design or build them wellenough. As a result residents and their
visitors are ignoring them and streets are
coming to be dominated by parked cars.
Parking eatures as a central issue in ourresearch into new residential developments2.It oten causes dissatisaction and argumentsbetween residents. Usually, residents wantplenty o parking directly under their controland within sight o their ront door.
So how have the case study sites done withtheir parking arrangements? The evidenceshows that there is not a single best solutionand that relying too much on one typeo parking can be problematic. EnglishPartnerships guide Car parking - Whatworks where (2006) provides useul advicethrough a range o case studies to show thatcar parking must respond to the location, thetypes o housing proposed and their tenure.
Other research has also shown that the mix oallocated versus unallocated parking is important to
delivering parking eciently3
. The theory here is thatunallocated parking, usually on the street, delivers thegreatest fexibility by allowing spaces to be used byvisitors and residents, who may be about at dierenttimes. This appeared to be supported by evidence inthe case studies. The Crown Street and Gun Wharschemes, with the highest levels o unallocated parking,seemed to work well. Whereas the Accordia andCharlton Down schemes, with a clear bias to allocatedparking and a lack o obvious spaces or visitors,did seem to have the most problems with parking.
The parking scheme in Errol Gardens in CrownStreet shows that to get on-street parking to workwell, the scale o the street is important. Most othe cars there are parked in the centre o the streetat right angles to the road. This means a largenumber o cars can be parked without dominatingthe street. It is clear where the parking is whenyou arrive in the street. This arrangement allowsthe spaces in the middle o urban blocks to remainpleasant private spaces rather than parking courts,which in this location might dramatically reduce
residents access to private outdoor space.
On-street parking,
particularly by visitors,
will happen even ithe design does not
accommodate it easily
StephenMcLaren
2 CABE (2007) A sense of place
3 Noble and Jenks (1996) and later work by Alan Youngof WSP Group and Phil Jones of Phil Jones Associates
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Crown Street shows how changing
the scale o a street can allow
parking to be accommodated
Elsewhere, the problem o on-street parkingis dealt with less well, particularly in schemes
where it wasnt easy to see i the street evenprovided on-street parking, such as at CharltonDown. From the experience o this case study,on-street parking, particularly by visitors, willhappen even i the design does not accommodateit easily. Many vehicles were parked hal upon the kerb which obstructs pedestrians andpeople using wheelchairs or with pushchairs andcreates visibility problems or other drivers.
In Upton, Charlton Down and Accordia residentseel they had a lack o control over unallocated
street parking. There was a ear that, while it isfexible enough or dierent users it was also opento abuse either by residents with a lot o vehicles orby those who were seen to be breaking the rulesby not using their own parking behind or to theside o their property. The problems this causedand the disputes between neighbours have ledto each o these schemes proposing some ormo on-street permit system to control parking.
Alongside ensuring the correct mix, the individual
design and careul implementation o parkingaects whether it is well used. The rear parkingcourts in the case studies showed signicant fawsin their design and execution. In all schemes theirstatus was ambiguous even those nominallyprivate such as in Upton and Gun Whar werecompromised by gates being let open.The courts at Charlton Down and to the backo the social housing in Accordia were large andpoorly landscaped with large areas o tarmacand high ences between the space and theback gardens o properties. This ailure to allowresidents to easily see their vehicles rom theirproperties discourages their use either or parkingor or any other unction, such as or childrens play,which might compensate or the large land take.
St ephenMcLaren
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car ownership levels are lower, which may havehelped support this range o uses. The evidencerom residents is that the various shops and servicesdraw in passers-by rom other neighbourhoods.
The case studies also show a disconnection romsurrounding neighbourhoods. This is partly due to
objections rom nearby residents or even residentsin the scheme who ear through-trac. In Uptonand Accordia this has reduced each scheme toa large cul-de-sac in terms o vehicle movement.Other schemes have been built in close proximity tolarge high speed roads. In Crown Street we oundthe orbidding nature o the urban ring road thatringes the site has limited the potential or easyconnections to surrounding neighbourhoods.
Local highway authorities set the design standardsor new developments. I these are based on theold cul-de-sac culture, new developments areorced to turn their backs on the surroundingnetwork. We need to learn lessons rom the pastwhere public transport routes were the ocus orhigh density mixed use development, supportedby lower density but connected hinterland.
Existing practice, based on the approachoutlined in Manual or Streets, aims to establishshared ideas between the various partiesinvolved in the development process. We must
ensure that this happens i we are to deliverconnected growth o our towns and cities.
Connecting
neighbourhoods
Many new neighbourhoods are disconnected
rom established urban areas because they are in
isolated locations, bounded by high speed roads,or because neighbours ear through trac.
We know that streets have to unction at dierentscales as the public space outside our homes andas the way our homes are connected to the widerworld. In this section we will look in more detail atthe connections beyond the neighbourhood.
Streets exist as parts o wider networks with newdevelopments adding to and connecting with existingstreets. Such networks oer residents opportunities or
shopping and working locally or urther away. However,the cul-de-sac culture eectively cut easy linksbetween neighbourhoods. One o the biggest recentchanges in street design has been the attempt to getstreets working as part o a connected network. Thisis beginning to happen within neighbourhoods. Thechallenge now is to connect beyond the neighbourhood.
One o the notable actors behind lie on pre-war streets was the variety o uses within streetnetworks corner pubs, shops, service businesses,
community halls and small industrial premises werecommon. Their closeness to each other meantmore people walked through the neighbourhoodand used the local shops and services.
Looking at the case studies there has been little inthe way o local service provision that residents canaccess on oot. This is particularly true in developmentson the edge o towns located near to large shops andservices that rely on people using their cars. CharltonDown, even though it is three miles rom the nearesttown, has just one convenience store and a communityhall or over 500 properties. Accordia has no otheruses in the residential scheme even though it has over300 properties. The original design included ocespace in the scheme but the site was sold to anotherdeveloper and design changes led to the oce spacebeing built with separate access and a ence cuttingo any links with the main residential scheme.
Only Crown Street has been able to deliver arange o uses, with a small supermarket, a verypopular library and several smaller shops, including
caes, butchers, newsagents and chemists. Thescheme was led by a regeneration company ratherthan a private developer. It is also in a more urbanneighbourhood than any o the other schemes, where
Step
henMcLaren
A ear o through trac by neighbouring
residents has resulted in these crude barriers
that prevent ull movement between Upton
and nearby estates
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Inclusive design or
residential streets is about
getting the basics right
clear accessible streets
that support walking
and encouraging social
interaction between thewhole community
Ste
phenMcLaren
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Inclusive design
Design teams have not consulted widely with the
community and a lack o monitoring and evaluation
during construction and ater completion hasallowed design faws and barriers to appear.
None o the case study streets, all o which weredesigned beore the Disability Discrimination Act2005 came into eect, shows as much concernor inclusive design as we would expect today. Nor,except or Crown Street, did there seem to have beenany signicant consultation with disabled people,local access ocers or their advocates during theplanning stages. Today, we all have an obligation todeliver inclusive design. Going orward, developers,
designers and local authorities will need to developthe skills to consult and eectively represent the needso a wide range o users. These discussions need toaddress both specic practical needs as well as howto create places that make all users eel welcome.
Inclusive design or residential streets is aboutgetting the basics right - clear, accessible streetsthat support walking and encourage socialinteraction between the whole community so thateveryone can move about and enjoy the space as
they want. For example, the long, straight streetsat Accordia provide good sight lines or users andhelp people moving about to estimate distances.
Crown Street shows the benet o involving people withdisabilities. They have been represented on the variouscommittees involved in developing Crown Street and theoverall design outcome has been commendably inclusive.Using central parking means vehicles are kept well awayrom the pavements, which are wide and comortable orpedestrians to use and suitable or people with a rangeo mobility needs. The pavings colour, tone and textureworks well together or people with visual impairments.
Although there wasnt signicant involvement withthe Gun Whar development, the design outcomeshows some real inspirational inclusive design. Thepublic space at Gun Whar in Plymouth is a greatexample. It provides a level area in the centre o thesloping site with access by steps with handrails, andwell-designed slopes lead to level spaces. Popular asa childrens play area, it is much more versatile thantraditional grassed spaces. There is a clear contrast
between the white seating and the grass borders to helppartially sighted people. Also there is plenty o spaceor seating, and wheelchairs and childrens buggiescan be placed on the level areas next to the seating.
Alongside getting people with disabilities involvedin the design process there needs to be attention
to detail during construction. This will help avoidproblems with design eatures such as a poorlyplaced bollard, and railing or handrails built at thewrong height. Unortunately, each o the case studiesshowed these problems. For example, there is nodisabled parking near the shop in Charlton Down andsome blister paving in Accordia is poorly positioned.These problems could have been corrected i the buildhad been monitored and audited when nished.
It is too early ater the passage o the legislationto see how those involved in designing residential
streets will respond to the Disability DiscriminationAct. Designers must consult and engage a widerrepresentation o the community in the designprocess, including access groups and local accessocers. These groups themselves will also need to beavailable to be involved in assessing schemes rom thebeginning. This may mean in design discussions withdevelopers and also audits ater completion to makesure design eatures are put into practice successully.
StephenMcLaren
Crown Streets easily understood
layout and wide pavements
encourage walking to local
shops and services
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Recommendations
The ve case studies have pointed theway towards a new era in residential street
design where people rather than cars areprioritised. Connecting beyond the sitehas proved universally dicult. Yet webelieve these schemes are moving in theright direction as attractive and unctionalplaces to live. In order to improve the designo uture residential neighbourhoods wemake the ollowing recommendations:
1 2
4
6
3
5
7 8
14
Think strategically about
growth, avoid isolated
sites, and connect new and
existing neighbourhoods.
Rediscover the public transport-
led model o suburban
development. Focus higher
densities and mixed uses at new
suburban centres connected by
viable public transport links.
Ensure space is clearly public
or private a space whoseownership is ambiguous is likely
to be under-used and become a
maintenance burden.
Avoid compromising on
materials and quality at the
construction stage. This isalso oten known as value
engineering.
Create a logical structure o
neighbourhood streets andspaces, to aid navigation or all
and to encourage walking
and cycling.
Use a range o
parking solutions that are
appropriate to the context.Design streets to accommodate
on-street parking.
Establish inclusive design as a
core competency within design
teams. Engage those who
represent the widest possible
range o local people early in the
design process.
Audit completed schemes.
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Too many o the neighbourhoods where
people live are structured around cars.
This needs to change. This brieing
investigates residential street design
using examples rom England and
Scotland. It identiies common problems,
explains how good design helps to
connect and structure neighbourhoods
and makes recommendations or
improvement. It is aimed at planners,
urban designers and highways
proessionals. It will also be o interest
to councillors, developers and anyone
else concerned with the quality o new
residential neighbourhoods.
Design better streets
This way to better residential streets
is part o a wider CABE programmethat provides research, guidance and casestudies aimed at promoting high-qualitystreet design. For more inormation see
b g k/ t t