By Bob Ritter - President and Publisher of Washington CEO Magazine 

Urban density should be embraced by community leaders to build more livable cities and suburbs, to reduce dependence on automobiles and to maintain an educated work force that drives innovation and economic prosperity.            

Importantly, greater density in Seattle and its suburbs promotes conservation of pristine forests and rural farmlands, aids in efforts to restore Puget Sound water quality and helps alleviate other environmental degradation.        

Those were the themes of a three-day conference, “Design for Livability: Doing Density Right” presented in late September by the Cascade Land Conservancy, AIA Seattle and Allied Arts of Seattle.  More than 200 architects, land-use planners and community activists heard speaker after speaker promote the advantages of building well designed neighborhoods that combine greater density, green space preservation, connectivity and sense of place.   

“Cities must be made more livable if they are to attract people, rather than repel them.  In short, cities must become worthy of our children.”  Gene Duvernoy, president of Cascade Land Conservancy, told the gathering.  “We must build livability into our cities from the bottom up if we are to protect our rural and wild lands from sprawl.”  

Density – defined as the number of residential units per acre – has long been associated with crime, traffic congestion, parking issues and less-than-attractive housing.  But that image is obsolete, according to David Dixon, a principal in the Boston architecture firm Goody Clancy.

Dixon, who has played a central role in revitalizing his home city, said changing values among younger Americans make properly executed urban density a far more attractive alternative.

“Seventy-five percent say a shorter commute is preferable to a large home or a big back yard,” Dixon said. “They feel a growing responsibility to be part of the sustainability movement and they prefer walkable, compact communities.”  

Dixon provided “five building blocks” for architects and planners attempting to assure greater density improves quality of life:

• Build community that promotes diversity and brings people together in parks, public spaces and neighborhood shopping areas.
• Advance sustainability by connecting housing and work places through public transportation and revitalization of grey and brown fields.
• Enhance personal health by ensuring that residents can walk or bicycle to shopping areas and work places.
• Expand individual choice by designing diverse housing options for all ages and incomes, transportation alternatives and amenities such as parks and libraries built with tax dollars generated by increased property values.
• Make places that people love, including squares and main streets that reflect cultural diversity and historic preservation. “Architecture is not sculpture in urban neighborhoods,” Dixon said. “Use form that fits.”
  

Architects urged cities throughout the metro region to adopt less restrictive codes that allow design features that address privacy, sustainability, open space and connectivity while maximizing use of land resources.  They urged prompt action, citing a projected population increase of 1.7 million for the Puget Sound metropolitan region by 2040.

Carol Coletta, president of CEOs for Cities, a Chicago-based group committed to inspiring next generation cites, said livable urban communities with greater density are critical to the future of the region.  

“It’s the best path to providing access to opportunity in the form of education and jobs, breaking our dependence on oil, reducing carbon emissions, reversing the growing problem of obesity and demonstrating that the American dream works best when we take full advantage of diversity.”

Why density matters:

Urban design that promotes a higher density of buildings and public spaces will result in (in conjunction with other conditions such as mixed use, quality building design and adequate open space): 

• Conservation of pristine rural areas and farmland by preventing urban and suburban sprawl.
• Cost savings in land, infrastructure and energy.
• A reduction in the economic costs of time spent traveling for work and pleasure.
• Preservation of green spaces in cities and suburbs.
• Reduced air and water pollution by curtailing carbon emissions and runoff.
• The encouragement of greater physical activity, with consequent health benefits.
• The promotion of social connections and community vitality.