4.3. Neighborhood Square

Aus Pattern Language Wiki

At the edges of a Pedestrian Sanctuary, identify key sites, especially corners, for the provision of neighborhood public spaces.


04 3 01 Neighbourhood Square.jpg


Problem-statement: At the scale of neighborhoods — roughly 1-2 square kilometers, or ½ square mile — there is a need for a lively public space for gathering, recreation, markets, and community events, adjacent to neighborhood commercial activities. This need is different from the need for recreational “green” parks.


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Old Town Plaza in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a classic neighborhood square following the “Laws of the Indies” regulations that required squares to be placed at the center of commercial and civic activity.¹


Discussion:: The size of urban squares and plazas can vary, and some can be quite small. The critical factor is the maximum distance that residents must walk to reach these spaces — optimally a maximum of 400 meters or ¼ mile. This in turn suggests a spacing of roughly 800 meters or ½ mile in all directions.


04 3 02 Neighbourhood Square.jpg


We rely upon a fractal distribution in the sizes of public squares, in which the neighborhood square represents an intermediate size. This smaller, distributed square cannot be substituted by a larger or equal size “green” park, because both size and function are important.²


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Therefore:

Create neighborhood squares adjacent to neighborhood through streets, and at nodes where commercial activities are present or likely. Place them where climatic and other physical conditions make sitting there attractive.


04 3 03 Neighbourhood Square.jpg


At the edges of the neighborhood squares, place at least some active commercial uses in each Perimeter Building, positioning carefully for economic success. Develop a Place Network along the streetscape, and assure the Walkable Streetscape all around the square…




¹ See a description of the Laws of the Indies and their generative capabilities in Hakim, B. S. (2007). Generative processes for revitalizing historic towns or heritage districts. Urban Design International, 12(2-3), 87-99. It is worth noting that the Old Town Plaza is now very much an anomaly in the wider Albuquerque cityscape, and the pattern expressed in the Laws of the Indies has not survived into contemporary growth. Nonetheless we can see such spaces as instructive exemplars within the context of multiscalar networked interventions.


² A good description of successful neighborhood square structure as it has evolved in a European context — similar to but not identical to other international contexts — can be seen at Lennard, C. H. & Lennard, L. H. (2008). Genius of the European Square. Portland: International Making Cities Livable.



Mehaffy, M. et al. (2020). NEIGHBORHOOD SQUARE (pattern). In A New Pattern Language for Growing Regions. The Dalles: Sustasis Press. Available at https://pattern-language.wiki/.../Neighborhood_Square



SECTION I:

PATTERNS OF SCALE


1. REGIONAL PATTERNS

Define the large-scale spatial organization…

1.1. POLYCENTRIC REGION

1.2. BLUE-GREEN NETWORK

1.3. MOBILITY CORRIDOR

1.4. 400M THROUGH STREET NETWORK

2. URBAN PATTERNS

Establish essential urban characteristics…

2.1. WALKABLE MULTI-MOBILITY

2.2. LEVEL CITY

2.3. PUBLIC SPACE SYSTEM

2.4. BIOPHILIC URBANISM

3. STREET PATTERNS

Identify and allocate street types…

3.1. URBAN GREENWAY

3.2. MULTI-WAY BOULEVARD

3.3. AVENUE

3.4. SHARED SPACE LANE

4. NEIGHBORHOOD PATTERNS

Define neighborhood-scale elements…

4.1. STREET AS CENTER

4.2. PEDESTRIAN SANCTUARY

4.3. NEIGHBORHOOD SQUARE

4.4. NEIGHBORHOOD PARK

5. SPECIAL USE PATTERNS

Integrate unique urban elements with care…

5.1. SCHOOL CAMPUS

5.2. MARKET CENTER

5.3. INDUSTRIAL AREA

5.4. HOSPITAL

6. PUBLIC SPACE PATTERNS

Establish the character of the crucial public realm…

6.1. PLACE NETWORK

6.2. WALKABLE STREETSCAPE

6.3. MOVABLE SEATING

6.4. CAPILLARY PATHWAY

7. BLOCK AND PLOT PATTERNS

Lay out the detailed structure of property lines…

7.1. SMALL BLOCKS

7.2. PERIMETER BLOCK

7.3. SMALL PLOTS

7.4. MID-BLOCK ALLEY

8. STREETSCAPE PATTERNS

Configure the street as a welcoming place…

8.1. STREET AS ROOM

8.2. TERMINATED VISTA

8.3. STREET TREES

8.4. STREET FURNISHINGS

9. BUILDING PATTERNS

Lay out appropriate urban buildings…

9.1. PERIMETER BUILDING

9.2. ARCADE BUILDING

9.3. COURTYARD BUILDING

9.4. ROW BUILDING

10. BUILDING EDGE PATTERNS

Create interior and exterior connectivity…

10.1. INDOOR-OUTDOOR AMBIGUITY

10.2. CIRCULATION NETWORK

10.3. LAYERED ZONES

10.4. PASSAGEWAY VIEW



SECTION II:

PATTERNS OF MULTIPLE SCALE


11. GEOMETRIC PATTERNS

Build in coherent geometries at all scales…

11.1. LOCAL SYMMETRY

11.2. SMALL GROUPS OF ELEMENTS

11.3. FRACTAL PATTERN

11.4. FRAMING

12. AFFORDANCE PATTERNS

Build in user capacity to shape the environment…

12.1. HANDLES

12.2. CO-PRODUCTION

12.3. FRIENDLY SURFACES

12.4. MALLEABILITY

13. RETROFIT PATTERNS

Revitalize and improve existing urban assets …

13.1. SLUM UPGRADE

13.2. SPRAWL RETROFIT

13.3. URBAN REGENERATION

13.4. URBAN CONSOLIDATION

14. INFORMAL GROWTH PATTERNS

Accommodate “bottom-up” urban growth…

14.1. LAND TENURE

14.2. UTILITIES FIRST

14.3. DATA WITH THE PEOPLE

14.4. INCREMENTAL SELF-BUILD

15. CONSTRUCTION PATTERNS

Use the building process to enrich the result…

15.1. DESIGN-BUILD ADAPTATION

15.2. HUMAN-SCALE DETAIL

15.3. CONSTRUCTION ORNAMENT

15.4. COMPLEX MATERIALS



SECTION III:

PATTERNS OF PROCESS


16. IMPLEMENTATION TOOL PATTERNS

Use tools to achieve successful results…

16.1. FORM-BASED CODE

16.2. ENTITLEMENT STREAMLINING

16.3. NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING CENTER

16.4. COMMUNITY MOCKUP

17. PROJECT ECONOMICS PATTERNS

Create flows of money that support urban quality…

17.1. TAX-INCREMENT FINANCING

17.2. LAND VALUE CAPTURE

17.3. EXTERNALITY VALUATION

17.4. ECONOMIES OF PLACE AND DIFFERENTIATION

18. PLACE GOVERNANCE PATTERNS

Processes for making and managing places…

18.1. SUBSIDIARITY

18.2. POLYCENTRIC GOVERNANCE

18.3. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PLACE MANAGEMENT

18.4. INFORMAL STEWARDSHIP

19. AFFORDABILITY PATTERNS

Build in affordability for all incomes…

19.1. INTEGRATED AFFORDABILITY

19.2. COMMUNITY LAND TRUST

19.3. MULTI-FAMILY INFILL

19.4. SPECULATION TAX

20. NEW TECHNOLOGY PATTERNS

Integrate new systems without damaging old ones…

20.1. SMART AV SYSTEM

20.2. RESPONSIVE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY

20.3. AUGMENTED REALITY DESIGN

20.4. CITIZEN DATA