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PROJECT AND CONTEXT DESCRIPTION
For this case study carried out in 2000, we stay in the
central region of North Carolina and focus on the
city of Raleigh, the state capital. The site for this
Small Area Plan lies just a couple miles east of the
previous CORE project, and comprises approxi-
mately four square miles, bounded on the west, north
and east sides by freeways, and on the south by a local
arterial street that connects directly with the city cen-
ter, four miles to the east. This southern edge of the
project area also includes the proposed Triangle
Transit Authority’s (TTAs) future commuter rail line,
the same one that was featured in the previous case
study. The line is used for freight and Amtrak, and
will continue to be so, but two passenger rail stations
on the new commuter tracks are planned within this
study area. The western edge of the site marks the
border between Raleigh and its neighbor, the city of
Cary (see Figure 8.1).
The study area includes a wide variety of uses.
These range from large recreational facilities (the
Entertainment and Sports Arena, the NC State
University football stadium, an equestrian complex,
and the State Fairground) to a corporate office park,
large educational institutions (a local high school and
the NC State School of Veterinary Medicine) and
small residential neighborhoods plus a smattering of
local businesses. Large undeveloped areas that are
ripe for development exist within the plan area; how-
ever, these same properties include landscapes and
environmental systems that have been damaged by
previous suburban construction and need environ-
ment protection.
The two sports facilities and the Fairground bring
tens, even hundreds of thousands of visitors and fans to
the site at various times of the year. These intermittent
uses put a strain on the transportation infrastructure,
and on the quality of life of residents and workers in the
adjacent neighborhoods and office parks. In addition,
the overall project area serves as a gateway to Raleigh
from many points west including Cary, the Research
Triangle, Durham, Chapel Hill and beyond. Its access
to interstate freeways is excellent, but the current trans-
portation system surrounding the site depends almost
exclusively on large, limited access thoroughfares.
These roads move a high volume of regional traffic
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