| As State Representative Art Feltman correctly pointed out in his Place column this past Sunday:
Since the 1950s, some housing developers have done their best to make every town look the same. We've grown used to, and towns are zoned for, subdivisions in which each house sits on a half-acre, more or less, of land; has a front yard, rear yard, and two side yards; and has public road frontage. Other than the paved road, there is no public space.
Add to that the strip mall commercial development that pervades the American landscape,
and you can clearly see that distinctive communities are becoming a thing of the past -- our towns are becoming homogenized.
Luckily, we still have distinctive communities and neighborhoods left in Connecticut. The downtown areas of Collinsville, Mystic, and Litchfield, as well as West Hartford center, are shing examples of neighborhoods with a strong sense of place -- you know where you are when you are standing in the middle of them. Furthermore, it is these types of places that attract people, thereby adding an economic vitality to the community. |
| Smart growth encourages communities to craft a vision and set standards for development and construction which respond to community values of architectural beauty and distinctiveness, as well as expanded choices in housing and transportation. It seeks to create interesting, unique communities which reflect the values and cultures of the people who reside there, and foster the types of physical environments which support a more cohesive community fabric. Smart growth promotes development which uses natural and man-made boundaries and landmarks to create a sense of defined neighborhoods, towns, and regions. It encourages the construction and preservation of buildings which prove to be assets to a community over time, not only because of the services provided within, but because of the unique contribution they make on the outside to the look and feel of a city.
Guided by a vision of how and where to grow, communities are able to identify and utilize opportunities to make new development conform to their standards of distinctiveness and beauty. Contrary to the current mode of development, smart growth ensures that the value of infill and greenfield development is determined as much by their accessibility (by car or other means) as their physical orientation to and relationship with other buildings and open space. By creating high-quality communities with architectural and natural elements that reflect the interests of all residents, there is a greater likelihood that buildings (and therefore entire neighborhoods) will retain their economic vitality and value over time. In so doing, the infrastructure and natural resources used to create these areas will provide residents with a distinctive and beautiful place that they can call "home" for generations to come.
For more on building attractive communities with a sense of place, click here |
