Mixed-Use Development

One "technique" for building a strong urban community is the idea of "mixed-use". Loosely defined, this is allowing different uses for one given area, as opposed to defining an area as "residential" or "business park" or the like.

Mixed-use can be as simple as a municipality allowing owners to build what they want on their particular lot, to complex, as in defining specific uses for specific lots, requiring ground-floor retail, and designating what percentage of a particular area should be residential, commercial, etc. Whatever its iteration, mixed-use helps build community.

The reason it works is that mixed-use tends to expand the amount of time an area is used each day. Take a residential development: On an ordinary weekday, many residential subdivisions turn into ghost towns during the work/school day and again after dinner, while people are either away from the home or sequestered in front of the TV. A business park will usually be lively from about 7:30am to 5:30pm, but turn into the same ghost town outside those hours.

By contrast, a mixed-use area will often make an area usable for 16-18 hours per day or even more. To start, they will usually have retail shops and businesses, meaning there will be activity from 7:30am to 5:30pm (or so). Then, add restaurants, clubs, and entertainment, and we've extended the evening usage to upwards of 11pm. When residential uses are added, we can tack at least another hour or two of activity, due to morning and night-time activities like commuting (walking) to work, walking home from the theater, going to the corner cafe for morning coffee, among other things. Since all the uses are close, we can walk from one to another, meaning we're not locked up in our glass and steel bubbles on wheels. We're among the community.

This tends to have other benefits as well: With people around so much of the time, crime is less frequent (studies have proven this). Less land is required, since parking needs are reduced. Life is convenient, since the drugstore is one block over, there's a neighborhood grocery, and our workplace may even be within walking distance.

If you haven't noticed by now, I am a big proponent of mixed-use development. I feel strongly, though, that it shouldn't be too heavily-defined, because the market often helps determine which use is best for which space over time. I'm hoping to see much more mixed-use development in the future.