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Mobility

Every trip made by foot, on a bicycle, or via public transit means independence for one more child or elder .

Each of these trips is also one fewer car on the road which diminishes both pollution to the atmosphere as well as traffic congestion.

Dispersed, low-density development produce far-flung road systems, which in turn create places designed to support the maximum speed for the automobile's daily travel.

Each development typically collects all its traffic into a single entrance and exit which deposits the cars into a "collector road." The collector road then aggregates traffic from all of the residential developments along its corridor and deposits that traffic into an "arterial," named as if the roadway could work like the arteries of the human body.

The problem with the metaphor is that cars are not as orderly as blood cells and tend to want to travel in a large bundle at the same times of day.

When roadways are considered purely as a means of moving cars from one location to the other in the shortest possible time, then the kinds of places that the roads create is a side-effect.

...there are few destinations of interest related to arterials or collector roads.

he long intervals between low-density developments also produce a small yield of consumers per acre, and so not only is walking or bicycling unlikely, but transit is not feasible, either.

This conundrum demands a regional transportation perspective, as well as reconsideration of fundamental neighborhood planning principles in order to provide for easier access and greater individual choice.

In combination with the definition of boundaries and centers, regional densities can support arterials as transit corridors and boulevards that provide higher density dwellings and commercial destinations.

At the neighborhood scale, streets can be reconfigured to provide greater connectivity.

Increased numbers of intersections not only provides more route choices, but also the potential to calm traffic and to create streets and sidewalks amenable to pedestrians.

This freedom of choice reduces isolation and singular dependence on the automobile.

Applying these principles to a greenfield site and working with the basic units of neighborhood design to produce a defined center generates a more compact community with a greater variety of destinations within a five-minute walk as well as the opportunity to provide a density needed to support even light transit

Applying the principles of edges and boundaries in concert with regional planning establishes an important framework for metropolitan transit systems that connect villages, towns and cities across the landscape.