A bolder attitude on the part of designers, developers, neighbors and city planners could begin to see the positive creative potential in mixed-use development, and help to nurture it, rather than circumscribe it in ridiculous requirements. Downtown Seattle is projected to have 27,350 multi-family residential units by 2015 and population of 38,000. A thriving residential population will demand retail and other amenities offered in mixed-use development. Open space, schools, libraries and grocery stores are elements which can create quality neighborhoods. Some suburban areas, however, have yet to see positive street life and pedestrian quality develop due in large part to an orientation primarily focused on the automobile.
TODs can accomplish a variety of worthwhile goals.
These include encouragement to use alternative modes of transportation and such development can create interesting urban character in places where it doesn t currently exist. As the region continues to grow, and pressures on land prices continue to escalate, planners and developers will need to begin to identify areas outside the city center where mixed-use development would be appropriate. The concept is fascinating. The old railroad suburbs outside Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Chicago, all focused on a village center, a kind of pedestrian node, in the midst of primarily single-family residential towns. The creation of this kind of a nexus within the undifferentiated fabric of suburban or neighborhood residential development is a real opportunity.