7.3. Small plots

Aus Pattern Language Wiki

Within a Perimeter Block, it is important to keep a variety of scales of buildings.


07 3 01 Small Plots.jpg


Problem-statement: Large plots are more expensive, and tend to attract a more limited pool of users. A mix of small plot sizes helps to keep spaces more affordable, and promotes greater diversity of business types and characteristics.


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Discussion: The evidence for this pattern is easy to see in examples where plot sizes are universally large. The buildings on these plots are also generally very large, often with large users as well. Even in the case of smaller “demised” lease spaces with in a larger building (such as a “strip” shopping center) there is often a homogeneity of “chain” type businesses.


There is a place for some large plot sizes as well, particularly if they are “demised” into smaller retail and residential spaces (e.g. in condominiums, or smaller rental stalls). But there is an advantage in having a mix of individually-owned plots, each of which is able to grow and adapt according to its owner’s individual needs. (Demising means to separate spaces according to individual tenants and uses, and includes erecting partitions and party walls.)

Another supporting rationale comes from optimizing the pedestrian urban space of the street, which is necessary for urban vitality. It is far easier to achieve the design variety and spatial rhythm necessary for a positive urban experience if the plot sizes are small, and individual agents are working on a variety of different projects and scales (but within an overriding code or coordinating plan). Unfortunately, there are many examples where unfriendly façades made possible by large plot size has ruined a street, so that no one wants to walk along it.


Having control of the entire street length, when combined with a preference for minimalist walls, tends to generate unfriendly surfaces made even more oppressive because of their length.


07 3 02 Small Plots.jpg
Rowhouses on small plots in Washington, D.C.


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Therefore:

Lay out plots with the fundamental unit quite small, perhaps no wider than 6 meters or 20 feet. Include a mix of sizes, with some larger plots depending on market conditions.


07 3 03 Small Plots.jpg


Use the Row Building pattern at the edges, and maintain Layered Zones with Place Network. …




¹ Our colleague Sergio Porta and his associates have done some of the most relevant work for this pattern — see e.g. Porta, S., & Romice, O. (2014). Plot-based urbanism: Towards time-consciousness in place-making. In Dortmunder Vorträge zur Stadtbaukunst [Dortmunder Lectures on Civic Art]: New Civic Art (pp. 82-111). Dortmund DE: Deutsches Institut für Stadtbaukunst.



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



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