POULSBO — There was a time, at the beginning of the 20th century, when most Americans lived in villages or village-like neighborhoods within a city. Residents could walk to work, their children walked to nearby schools, and most of life’s needs — the butcher, the baker and candlestick maker, if you will — were within easy walking distance.
After World War II, thanks in part to the automobile, communities became more sprawling, and it was often more convenient — if not necessary — to get into a car and drive to get to work, school or store.
Much of the credit for the rebirth in the 1990s of what are now called “urban villages” goes to the patronage of Prince of Wales for the Urban Villages Group in Great Britain, which first promoted the idea of mixed-use urban developments on a sustainable scale. Since then, the concept has gone global; Bellingham and Seattle have adopted the urban village concept as part of their urban master planning.
According to the City of Bellingham, the 10 key principles of an urban village are:
1. Walkability. Most things are within a 10-minute walk of home and work. Pedestrian-friendly street design. Pedestrian streets free of cars in special cases.
2. Connectivity. Interconnected street grid network disperses traffic and eases walking. A hierarchy of narrow streets, boulevards, and alleys. High-quality pedestrian network and public realm makes walking pleasurable.
3. Mixed-Use & Diversity. A mix of shops, offices, services, recreational activities, apartments, and homes. Mixed use within neighborhoods, within blocks, and within buildings. Diversity of ages, income levels, cultures, and lifestyles.
4. Mixed Housing. A range of types, sizes and prices in closer proximity, such as cottages; single-family detached and attached; multi-family; accessory; upper floor rentals over retail; condominiums.
5. Quality Architecture & Urban Design. Emphasis on beauty, aesthetics, human comfort, and creating a sense of place. Special placement of civic uses and sites within community. Human-scale architecture and attractive surroundings nourish the human spirit.
6. Traditional Neighborhood Structure. Discernible center and edge. Public space at center, and quality public realm. Public open space designed as civic art. Contains a range of uses and densities within 10-minute walk.
7. Increased Density. More buildings, residences, shops, and services closer together. New Urbanism design principles are applied at the full range of densities.
8. Smart Transportation. A network of high-quality public transit connecting cities, towns, and neighborhoods together. Design that encourages a greater use of bicycles, rollerblades, scooters, and walking as daily transportation.
9. Sustainability. Minimal environmental impact of development and its operations. Eco-friendly technologies, respect for ecology and value of natural systems. More efficient use of public infrastructure and services. Energy efficiency. More walking, less driving.
10. Quality of Life. Taken together, these principles add up to a high quality of life well worth living, and create places that enrich, uplift, and inspire the human spirit.
