Buck Abbey, ASLA

School of Landscape Architecture

Louisiana State University

“We have drawn plans worthy of our hopes and dreams”

Jim Barksdale, Chairman

Governor’s Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal

Much has been written about the New Urbanism in recent years. This is indeed a movement in zoning practice that is shaking traditional zoning, commonly referred to as Euclidian zoning, to the core. In the January story Prediction, (LASN Vol.22 No. 12), of I wrote that massive community rebuilding is going on in New Orleans and along the gulf coast and how it was being influenced by the New Urbanism. It was pointed out in the story that rebuilding guides known, as “pattern books” have been prepared for affected communities. In addition master plans for rebuilding are being completed for New Orleans, Abbeville, Erath and Lake Charles Louisiana as well as the eleven coastal communities stretching from Bay St. Louis to Pacagoula, Mississippi. All of these communities are in need of being rebuilt to be more hurricane resistant.

These rebuilding master plans based upon what is called the “SmartCode” and the principles of new urbanism. These master plans are helping devastated towns meet enhanced building codes, FEMA flood zone requirements and the historical building practices found in gulf coast communities subject to tropical weather. Code standards in the smartcode are built around a transect based zoning as conceived by architect Andres Duany, The Congress For The New Urbanism and others. The Pattern Book for Gulf Coast Neighborhoods and the Louisiana Speaks Pattern Book created by Urban Design Associates can be used build the future for Louisiana and Mississippi.

The New Urbanism

There are several essential points about this innovative form of zoning that must be understood. First, it is based in part on zoning concepts developed in the formative 1900-1920 periods when much work was being done to establish zoning in this country and the basic principles of urban design. New urbanism, sometime called form based zoning, due to it reliance upon small town design precepts is to some extent a reaction to the suburbanization of the 1940’s and 1950’s. Suburbanization has lead to car dominated “placeless” urban sprawl of the late twentieth century where people live in neighborhoods, but do not know their neighbors. New urbanism stresses community design and comprehensive planning that creates compact, walkable, mixed use communities.

Secondly, conventional zoning was developed to divide and separate land uses by setting standings for the traditional urban zoning concerns of “use, set back, bulk, height and width.” Conventional zoning is commonly displayed in the zoning map or zoning plan which is a ‘plan view perspective’ where various use districts are laid out to reduce conflict and to set order to a community. The new urbanism seeks to promote social togetherness and reinvestment in the city center. It also seeks to decrease separation based upon race, income and environmental deterioration all symptoms of zoning by use. New urbanism zoning based upon the SmartCode, displays zoning in ‘section view perspective’ that is called The Transect. Form based zoning places emphasis on the design of the region, city and town as well as the neighborhood, district, corridor and street. The block, the building and pedestrian-ism rather than car-ism are other central concerns of transect based zoning. Urban forestry, landscape architecture open space planning and the planting of streets, lots and civic spaces are an important part of new urban communities that ensure quality of life.

The new urbanist code creates community patterns consisting of clustered developments such as neighborhoods, villages and towns all of which are central components of The New Urbanism. The TND or traditional neighborhood development, is perhaps the most well known of the new urban community patterns? The SmartCode helps designers create site plans of different scale including communities, neighborhoods, blocks, individual building lots and civic spaces known as greens, squares, plazas, parks and playgrounds. This code is implemented through the use of incentives, prescriptions and prohibitions and is directed through a review and approval process by municipal planning departments.

The SmartCode created the design of Seaside, Florida, which is noted for its mixed use, pedestrian friendly compact neighborhoods and warm beachside dune and inland cove environment. Principles used in the design of this project and the Smartcode have spread across the nation over the last twenty-five years. In all of these communities, open space, tree planting and public landscape play a central role in the livability of the place.

Rebuilding The Mississippi Coast

Now the new urban principles and urban forestry practices that built the world famous Seaside can be used to rebuild the Mississippi Coast. The Mississippi Renewal Forum synthesizes master plans that have been prepared for Biloxi, Gulfport, Long Beach, Ocean Springs, Pass Christian and six other coastal communities. In each of these towns the Governor’s Commission working with local officials and citizens have created Strategic Actions that will rebuild the infrastructure, economy and neighborhoods destroyed by the hurricane and its aftermath. The actions include design, policy, management and funding. Design will include such improvements as parks, promenades, town centers, neighborhood improvements, nature area preserves, buffer zones, networks of trails and walkways and new projects along Beach Boulevard. The entire list of Mississippi Renewal projects that contain elements of landscape architecture and urban forestry is contained with Appendix A, attached.

Rebuilding Neighborhoods

An essential element of the master plans for the various Mississippi communities impacted by the hurricane and mentioned in this paper include the redevelopment of neighborhoods.

Principles of the New Urbanism as mentioned in this paper are largely responsible for the creation of compact village type developments, mixed use neighborhoods and regional center developments all of which are designed to be pedestrian friendly, inclusive and automobile neutral. Communities rebuilt following these principles conserve natural areas and provide for the design of urban opens spaces that include parks, greens, squares, plazas and playgrounds all of which may be designed by landscape architects. In addition, these communities will contain a mix of housing types and increased opportunities for citizens if various incomes and social patterns to live together in a harmonious neighborly manner and enjoy life along the gulf coast.

Whilst the neighborhood, district and corridor are the essential elements of the new urbanism the street the block and the building become the detail elements of urban forestry that will allow the communities to be planted with trees, shrubs, flowers and ground covers to bring nature into the rebuilt community. The smart code directed methods by which these details are designed and planted are of importance to new urbanism inspired landscape architects. Planting of the various forms found in new urbanism communities including the grid streetscape, diagonal avenues, hemicycle neighborhoods, building frontages and the public streetscape as well as the more civic oriented park, square, green, plaza and playground that give the new urbanism community its grace, charm and natural character.

To rebuild Mississippi coastal cities it is important that the new urban policies, design criteria and codes that are presented in the town master plans be quickly adopted and funded to bring the vision hopes and dreams of coastal residents to fruition. Lets recover, rebuild, renew and replant the Mississippi Coast as envisioned by the Governor’s Commission.

Code Based Planning

There are several places to look to understand the principles of the new urbanism and transect based zoning. They include The Charter of the New Urbanism and the Smart Code published by the Municipal Code Corporation (www.municode.com) in cooperation with Transect Codeware Company, which is an affiliate of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, architects from Miami, Florida. In addition, two really excellent books have been published on the subject and they will be reviewed in this column later in the year. They include Peter Katz’s insightful book The New Urbanism, 1994 published by McGraw Hill Publishers. This standard reference book on new urbanists principles scans the world of this new form of zoning thought and details some of the more noteworthy signatory new urbanist projects planned over the last twenty years. Some of the noteworthy towns and neighborhoods including Seaside, Florida, 1981 the Town of Kentlands, Maryland, 1988, Lake West in Dallas, Texas, 1981 and the reconstruction of Downcity, Providence, Rhode Island, 1992.

The American Planning Association as PAS Report 526 has published a second read that should be on everyone’s book list. Codifying New Urbanism 2004 is a reference guide to drafting new urbanist zoning codes. This document published with the support of the Congress For The New Urbanism will be reviewed in this column at a later date as well.

Attachment: Appendix A Strategic Actions- Landscape Improvements

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Biography

D.G. ‘Buck’ Abbey is Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at LSU and Principal Consultant to the Louisiana, landscape architecture - planning firm, Abbey Associates, Inc. He has taught design, construction, graphics and computer technology courses at LSU since 1974. Abbey received his terminal degree from Harvard University. He is a recognized authority on municipal landscape codes and is author of the book, U.S. Landscape Ordinance, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. As associate editor of Landscape Architect & Specifier News Magazine, he writes regularly on landscape codes and related municipal planning law. He provides consulting services and expert witness testimony on landscape codes and site planning nationwide.