Our research seeks to place the Canadian
experience within an international context by interviewing
international planning experts and visiting sample new urbanism
style developments in the United States. Recently, we traveled
to two high growth municipalities in the Washington D.C.
area: Gaithersburg and Rockville, Maryland. Here are a variety
of pictures taken in new urbanism communities in this area
of the United States.
|
| |
| Transit-oriented development.
|
| While most new urbanism projects
in the area have bus service, new developments are concentrating
along transit nodes and corridors in accordance with smart growth
policy. Future light rail is also anticipated to come to the
Kentlands in the near future (right). |
|
|
 |
Olde Towne, Gaithersburg, MD.
|
King
Farm, Rockville, MD. |
Kentlands,
Gaithersburg, MD. |
| |
| Town
centres. |
| Montgomery County is encouraging
town centre approaches, which often feature a central public
plaza surrounded by a variety of restaurants and mixed residential
units. |
 |
 |
 |
| Rockville
Town Square has won an award from the Congress for the New Urbanism
for its vibrant public square, but 60% of the residential units
remain unoccupied. |
Market Square
in the Kentlands features a mixed-use town centre (Gaithersburg,
MD). |
Residences fronting
a park at King Farm Village Center in Rockville, MD. |
| |
| Retail
and mixed-use. |
| Many planners are concerned
with the viability of retail and mixed use centres in new urbanism
projects. They identified that commercial and retail areas are
more successful when they serve as a destination and are located
at the periphery of a neighbourhood, rather than at the centre. |
|
|
|
| King Farm Village
Center is located in the centre of the community, and fails
to draw in residents beyond the immediate community (Rockville,
MD). |
Fallsgrove Village
Center features a strip-mall type development on its periphery,
which is successful in attracting a wider community (Rockville,
MD). |
|
| |
| Infill. |
| Revitalization of aged housing
stock and strip malls is a major concern for planners in the
area, particularly as greenfields development approaches build-out. |
|
|
|
| Gaithersburg is
currently undergoing revitalization of its Olde Towne district. |
Strip malls, such
as this one in the Kentlands, are scheduled for future infill
development (Gaithersburg, MD). |
|
| |
| Density. |
| While new urbanism
projects are generally denser than conventional suburban developments,
many reflect only selective new urbanist principles. |
 |
 |
 |
|
Some new urbanism communities feature private backyards, rather
than shared public spaces (Quince Orchard Park, Gaithersburg,
MD.) |
Four-storey townhouses in Hidden Creek, Gaithersburg, MD. |
Single
family homes with large lots still abound in new urbanism communities
(King Farm, Gaithersburg, MD). |
| |
| Open
space. |
|
Despite higher densities, 30-40% open space is the standard
for new urbanism communities in Gaithersburg and Rockville.
This is dispersed throughout the community in the form of conservation
areas and recreational parks. |
 |
 |
 |
| This
sign in King Farm stresses the importance of conservation and
restoration (Rockville, MD) |
Human-made
lakes created for agricultural purposes are now used for stormwater
management in Lakelands (Gaithersburg, MD). |
Paved,
recreational trails in Kentlands, Gaithersburg, MD. |
| |
| Green
design. |
| High gas
and energy prices, combined with a growing environmental awareness
and a changing demographic, are perceived to be driving the
trend towards green design. |
 |
 |
|
| The
Tower Building is a LEED certified silver office building in
Rockville, MD. |
Natural building materials
(brick, wood siding, cedar shake roofs) in Kentlands, Gaithersburg,
MD. |
|
