Design First Walters fm qxd 2/26/04 7: 50 pm page I

Particularly on smaller lots, the garage and related
parking areas tend to dominate the streetscape if
not considered in the initial design. Residential
design should emphasize indoor and outdoor liv-
ing spaces and de-emphasize car storage. To that
end, no garage should extend beyond the frontage
line of the house and should be designed as a sec-
ondary volume. Figures 7.6 and 7.7 illustrate this
technique for single-family houses and town-
homes, and indicate how different types can be
integrated together by hiding the parking areas
from the street by insetting the garages or servic-
ing them from a rear alley.
Multi-family developments in particular need
to consider carefully the design of parking areas.
Lots of cars on asphalt in front of the buildings
can render this housing type incompatible with
other residential uses. For apartments and condo-
miniums, off-street parking should not be visible
from the street. It should be screened by the
buildings which must face and define the street’s
public space as shown in Figure 7.8. For commer-
cial buildings, parking should be to the side or
rear of all buildings. While on-street parking
should be provided wherever possible, off-street
parking in front of the building should be gener-
ally discouraged. Encouraging the use of shared
parking can reduce the size of parking areas and
minimize the impact on the environment.
6.
All neighborhoods should provide public, useable
open spaces
.
Neighborhoods should include small parks within
their curtilage, generally no more than a five-
minute walk from any dwelling. Instead of the
amorphous term ‘open space,’ we have found that
it’s always a good idea to name the open space
for what it is – ball fields, parks, squares, plazas,
community gardens or playgrounds. Naming
identifies the purpose of the open space, and