glaserworks
glaserworks: Architecture and Urban Design has created the Cincinnati Transect so that people from the Cincinnati area can relate the 'T' Zones described in Duany's generic Urban Transect to actual local places.
Many areas in greater Cincinnati are aligned with one or more of the 'T' zones as described in the Urban Transect. Many more, however, are not. Very often portions of neighborhoods will have some characteristics of a particular 'T' Zone but will not define such a zone purely.
For instance, many neighborhoods that may have a well-scaled T3 zone (T3 = low density residential use in various forms such as single family detached, attached and multi-family) are compromised by the intrusion of a large vehicular thoroughfare crashing through it. Often the thoroughfare is sized for traffic to get through the neighborhood without regard to the neighborhood itself or its inhabitants. This results in an uncomfortable pedestrian experience. These areas would be better served with the T-3 zone blending into a T-4 Zone over the thoroughfare.
Those areas that are not in alignment with any of the 'T' zones tend to be dominated by a vehicular scale and a pattern of sprawling, inefficient land use. These environments require that Cincinnatians drive everywhere for everything.
glaserworks' designers selected the areas shown in the diagram after weeks of research and consultation with Urban Land Institute members who were establishing the Form-Based Code conference on October 3rd and 4th of 2008.
glaserworks used photos of the selected areas - one aerial and one street view - to show the identified area literally. We then abstracted the selected area and drew a site section and figure-ground site plan. The simplicity of these drawings shows the essence of each area to illustrate how it is aligned with a particular T-Zone.
In what T-Zone does your favorite Cincinnati place fit? If you could develop, or re-develop, your neighborhood, what T-Zones would you prescribe to ensure the walkable, urbane experience that you desire, or curb the sprawl you don't desire?
To comment on or learn more about the Cincinnati Transect please e-mail Jeff Raser at jraser@glaserworks.com. We would like to hear from you.