Special uses may be included or excluded from the downtown core based on a series of rules defined below. Downtown-type uses, swing uses, and special uses should be considered for inclusion in the downtown area if they are urban rather than suburban in character. Urban buildings are oriented to streets and sidewalks, designed for ease of pedestrian access. Suburban buildings are oriented to highways and parking lots, designed for ease of automobile access. Swing uses and special uses are included or excluded depending on their proximity to downtown uses using rules as defined in the methodology presented below.
Downtown is an area where pedestrians can comfortably walk.
A continuous expanse of retail stores or other downtown uses encourages pedestrian movement. A barrier, such as a vast expanse of vacant land, surface parking lot, railroad yards, or a dreary underpass break the continuity, and may signal the end of the downtown core. The boundaries of the downtown core, as well as the retail district and office district, do not have to follow street rights of way. The boundaries can cut through the middle of a block. This intersection has been referred to as the 100 Percent Corner.