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Alleys in Urban Design: History and Application

A Short History of Alleys

 

Alley in Croatia by Dennis Jarvis

While alleys have existed in old world cities since the middle ages, they have had a limited level of utility in the recent American urban landscape. In the 19th century, American cities used alleys to hide the more utilitarian, less attractive functions of urban life including service and servant access, barns for horses and carriages, and even small shops and areas for children to play. However, the 20th century saw alleys nearly eliminated from the American urban landscape.

 

A number of events took place in the past century that contributed to the demise of the alley. Zoning segregated land use in such a way that many of the alley’s uses were redirected to distinct, separate districts. The automobile grew not only as America’s primary mode of transportation, but also as a status symbol. As such, home designs began to feature front loaded garages, allowing the automobile to be proudly displayed for all to see. Simultaneously, government spending focused on building high-speed roads and emphasizing home ownership, creating suburbs in lieu of cities. This “suburban” way of thinking about what communities should look like and how they should function was a shift away from compact, mixed-use development, causing alleys to be dismissed as costly wastes of space.

 

The Role of Alleys Today

 

In the 21st century, Americans are once again embracing the benefits of urban life, including walkability and compact mixed use development. Along with this “new urbanism,” we find ourselves once again embracing the alley as playing a critical role in the function of our cities and community development. Alleys are now a common feature in the design and redesign of our communities.

 

An alley in Winter Park, Florida.

 An alley leads to shops and restaurants in Winter Park, Florida.

 

The primary role of alleys has traditionally been to hide the more unsightly functions of our communities; the garages, garbage cans, transformers, electric meters, and telephone equipment. However, today their other positive impacts are celebrated as well: making possible narrower lots as garages are now accessed from the rear as opposed to being a prominent feature in front of a residence, enhancing safety as sidewalks and pedestrians become separated from the access requirements of vehicles, providing additional building access for firefighters, and creating a more casual neighborhood space adjacent to back yard activity centers, which leave the front of the house as a more formal community space.

 

Additionally, alleys are regaining their historic function as access for accessory housing units, providing a greater diversity of housing choices within our neighborhoods. We are also finding new uses for alleys, such as the Green Alley Movement, started in Chicago, which transforms alleys into greener community spaces which perform their traditional functions in addition to beautifying neighborhoods and reducing rainwater runoff. In older cities, alleys are being rediscovered as people places.

 

Applying Alleys

 

As with most urban design elements, a one-size-fits-all approach to alleys does not work. Alley specifications need to work within the framework of their surroundings. Alley design will vary depending on the uses within the alley: the character of residentially bounded alleys will differ from those that are found in commercial and industrial settings. Designers can implement a variety of alley sections, with variations occurring in pavement widths, garage setbacks, one-way or two-way access, parking locations, and service accessibility.

 

Alley-loaded homes in Baldwin Park, FL.

 Alley-loaded homes in Baldwin Park, Florida.

 

To ensure our new alleys work as they are intended, there is a need to coordinate the design, function, and development of alleys with many stakeholders. It’s not only designers that need to be involved in the process of determining what is the best alley design for a community or project, but also communities and their leaders, city planners, utility companies, solid waste removal providers, fire departments, public works departments, and developers all need to be brought to the table when alleys are being considered.

 

 

What in the World is a Woonerf?

What is a Woonerf

If you’re a civically minded urban planner or citizen, then you’ve dreamed of streets that mix residential with commercial uses, where cars drive slowly, and the pedestrian is king. Most likely, what you’ve been longing for is a woonerf, a Dutch concept that translates to “living street.” In the United States, woonerf’s cousin—the “complete street”—is creating a lot of buzz. And rightly so: both streets feature human-centered design principles and improved safety for pedestrians and cyclists. So, the question remains: What makes a street complete and what makes it a woonerf?

 

The Woonerf and its History

 

2014.05.22 Placemaking in Maitland, FL - Master PlanOver the past decade, the popularity of complete streets has steadily grown in the United States. Like the woonerf, the American complete street takes the focus off of the automobile and instead spotlights pedestrians, cyclists, and public transportation. However, the woonerf takes it one step further: the distinction between pedestrian and vehicular space is blurred and virtually non-existent. Through the absence of sidewalk boundaries, curbs, and distinct lanes, those on foot and bike have equal access to the road as do cars. Speed is limited to “walking speed” (about 4 mph) and the design enforces this through curving roads and the use of public amenities such as playground equipment. Speed-bumps, which don’t add to the pedestrian experience, are not used.

 

Although its true implementation has been limited in the US, the woonerf concept has continued to appear in national publications in recent years, including the New York Times. While it may be brand-new to Americans, this smart design has been applied to over 6,000 Dutch streets. As a backlash to post-war, auto-centered street design, woonerfs (or woonerven) started in the 1970s and remain popular today.

 

Why should we use Woonerfs?

 

Woonerfs are commonly translated as “living streets,” but more exactly the name means “living yard.” In many places where private outdoor space is limited—as is the case in older European towns or any large city—the street acts as another outlet. For residents of a woonerf, the public space in front of their homes is a place to play, socialize, and engage in the community.

 

In addition to the community-building principles of woonerven, there are substantial safety improvements that have made them a success: In Dutch areas that have adopted the concept, traffic accidents dropped by 40% or more. Although cities often implement woonerfs in residential areas, they also support placemaking in denser mixed-use corridors. One local example of how a woonerf could be used to revamp a city’s core is the Maitland, Florida, case study.

 

Woonerf by the Numbers

 

  • The Netherlands feature over 6,000 woonerf zones.
  • Around 2 million people live in these Dutch woonerven.
  • Traffic accidents dropped by 40% or more in woonerf zones.
  • Over 70 of these zones exist in England and Wales, called “home zones.” The concept is also popular in other European countries, especially Germany.
  • Over 400 US cities have or are implementing woonerf-inspired complete streets.

 

 

Placemaking and Living Streets: A Maitland, FL Case Study

Maitland, Florida, is a small city of about 15,000 residents. Located just north of Orlando, it is home to a network of museums, a popular independent movie theater that plays host to the annual Florida Film Festival, and beautiful parks. Despite the city’s amenities, one albatross remains: the lack of a cohesive, walkable center of activity. Now, with three potential projects in the pipeline for downtown Maitland, the City Center officials have been planning for since the 1990s may finally come to fruition.

 

Placemaking through Woonerf - Living StreetFor almost two decades, placemaking has been one of the community’s top priorities. Between 1998 and 2003, community workshops and designs by planners have solidified a vision for the city’s Town Square, complete with an in-depth set of design standards. From these efforts has sprung the city’s first new anchor: an urban city hall with an adjacent fire station.

 

With three development proposals planned for Maitland, creating a new city center is now closer to a reality than ever before. To optimize these new developments, city officials and designers will need to create a cohesive community gathering place.

 

Placemaking through Living Streets

 

For over a decade, Canin Associates has selected a University of Miami student to research an urban design topic each summer. In 2012, Gabriel Williams worked with Canin Associates staff and faculty advisor Jaime Correa to design downtown Maitland’s Independence Lane as a “Living Street” envisioning a striking and lively new center for the community. A Woonerf, the Dutch term for Living Street, is a shared street that prioritizes pedestrians while still allowing cyclists and drivers. Shared space, traffic calming, and very low speeds make these living streets beneficial to both placemaking and pedestrian safety.

 

In Woonerfs (or, more correctly, woonerven), automobile pathways are integrated to create a calm and safe residential environment, focusing on plantings, benches, and bike racks. Rather than having separate sidewalks, the entire width of Independence Lane would be designed to allow free pedestrian movement. The plan also shows this shared street continuing extended to connect to points further north and south.

 

Placemaking in Maitland, Florida - Orlando Urban Planners

 

With the former city hall slated for demolition, the team saw a perfect opportunity to place a public park on the city-owned land. Mixed-use buildings in an urban configuration could contain continuous ground floor retail overlooking the new park.

 

Placemaking Urban Planners in Maitland / Orlando, Florida

 

Tying together the existing urban fabric in a retrofit can be a challenge. To achieve stylistic and spatial cohesion, placemakers must juggle an existing arrangement of asymmetrical volumes, setbacks, and construction techniques. An urban plaza and a new contemporary building are designed to reconcile the elegant and classical proportions of the city hall with the modern geometry of the neighboring bank.

 

Today, with a fresh opportunity to take another leap towards an active city center, the City of Maitland has the chance to refocus on the importance of placemaking and master planning. Only if people truly feel welcome will this new district become successful.