On traditional urbanism, skinny through streets, culs de sac, crime and neighborhood safety: As traditional urbanists, we generally favor hierarchically-arranged and pedestrian-friendly avenues, boulevards and streets, where a coordinated network of high-traffic-volume avenues, skinny through streets with low vehicle-design-speeds, on-street parking, strategically placed squares and / or roundabouts, and ample sidewalks creates a public environment that works safely and conveniently for pedestrians, bicyclists, and automobiles. We pursue this design strategy in the conviction that a beautiful and well-loved public realm, while it cannot prevent street crime, is the best spatial design strategy for discouraging street crime. In the course of the September 7-13 charrette, we were challenged on this assumption by Adam Cohen of the North Street Neighborhood Association, who very civilly raised the issue in one of the evening feedback sessions, and posted his concerns and links to articles about the virtues of culs de sac here: http://northassoc.org/2008/09/11/design-northampton-week-second-feedback-session-video.aspx In response particularly to the on-line link to criticisms from Randall O'Toole, who is known for his opposition to new traditional neighborhoods, we recommend the following essays from the web site of New Urbanist writer and editor Laurence Aurbach: Connectivity Part 5: Neighborhood Crime Correcting the "Crimogenic" Crowd (and three following pages listed at bottom) We appreciate Adam Cohen's concern for neighborhood safety; indeed we wish to promote it in neighborhoods all throughout Northampton. Our concern is a design concern and its consequences: that the general indifference to the public realm as represented in the typical suburban residential cul de sac contributes to an indifference to the quality of the public realm that in turn discourages public care for and ownership of the public realm, which in turn leaves public space to those whose intentions are less than civic. That said, we note that there are in fact urban strategies for mid-block, typically higher-density, residential developments such as the bungalow court and the "close." In fact, the close is a good example of an "urban cul de sac" as an alternative to the suburban cul de sac. The essential difference is that houses in a close are arranged fronting a green rather than fronting an asphalt circle. See here, for example  where there are actually six houses that front the green around which a narrow drive provides slow-speed automobile access to the individual houses. This is just one example of an urban approach to the issues of density, privacy and safety that are matters of concern to all residents of Northampton; and we welcome feedback from both Adam Cohen and other Northampton residents about the essays and links we have posted above. Urban v. Suburban Private Property  |