The pedestrian environment: Private frontages

New Urban News Technical Page by Andres Duany, Michael Morrissey, and Patrick Pinnell

Beginning of text: The benefits promised by New Urbanism spring directly from its emphasis on walking as the main way of moving through the world. Where places are made genuinely walkable, private vehicle mileage likely will be reduced and public transit will certainly be more viable. The convenience and interest of living at higher densities will more than make up for any annoyances. Children, the elderly, and those with physical impairments will gain greater quality and quantity of access, and that sometimes-elusive community glue called social capital is likelier to be produced in places with pedestrians inhabiting a public realm.

The last decade and more has seen not only the spread of a general public demand that the human environment be walkable, but also the rise of public and professional awareness of the specific components contributing toward that end. Personal safety must be assured, wind and weather shelter provided, and buildings shaped and plants situated to contribute positively. These things must be considered in and of themselves and in how they combine to form pedestrian sheds of plausible scale, with rewarding destinations at both centers and edges.