Partnerships for Sustainable Development Research

Urban Transitions Studio (UTS)

UTS Studio Publications

2010 Urban Transitions Studio: Cornwall Avenue / Adaptive Mall Reuse
2011 Urban Transitions Studio: Transit Oriented Communities | Bellingham

Urban Transitions Studio is a collaborative partnership between Western Washington University, Bellingham's Office of Planning and Community Development, and Sustainable Connections.

Beginning in 2010, the Western's Planning Studio class participated in a coordinated service learning curriculum that partnered several WWU classes with the City of Bellingham, Sustainable Connections, and other community and institutional partners in order to develop new urbanism planning concepts to help transition Bellingham into a more urban and sustainable community. Planning Studio is the first in the series of coordinated class investigations that emphasizes the preparation of the plan/design concept. Other classes participating in the Urban Transitions Studio program include: Planning Studio II (Implementation), Sustainable Design Studio, and Environmental Impact Assessment. Each of the participating classes further build upon the concepts developed in planning studio. The program is intended to expand student learning by concentrating planning studies over the course of an entire year and incorporating multiple dimensions of the planning process that aims to effect change towards sustainable community development.

UTS Program Goal is to Promote Urban Sustainability through Green Building and Transit Oriented Communities

What is Green Building?

Green building is a whole-systems approach to the design, construction and operation of a building. The purpose of green buildings is to minimize resource consumption, maximize resource reuse and energy efficiency, and create a healthy, non-toxic environment for people. Green buildings integrate the built with the natural environment. Students will assess sustainable design opportunities in prototype building structures, streetscapes, and public spaces. Emphasis is placed on achieving self sustaining independence for energy, water supply, wastewater, food security, and other aspects of sustainable development.

What are Transit Oriented Communities?

Transit Oriented Communities and Development (TOC) is the creation of compact, walkable neighborhoods centered around high quality rapid transit systems. TOC design adheres to the principles of sustainability, requiring compact rather than spread out buildings, and reducing our dependence on oil by making it easier for more people to have more choices in how to get around.

The Overlap Between Green Development and TOC Principles

Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) are compatible with and enhance the goals of green building. Green buildings allow communities to grow and thrive while both enhancing the natural environment outside of the development and improving the human environment within the building. Developments are considered "green" when they make efficient use of land, are close to transit, reduce natural resource use, decreased pollution and run-off, and integrate both pedestrian and bicycle-friendly design. The creation of green mixed-use, mixed income, transit oriented neighborhoods is an important element of any smart growth strategy.

Green building design relies on the principle of replication of natural systems, called "biomimicry". By developing buildings that work as systems, we reduce energy use and the cost of materials. We minimize environmental impacts by reducing and diverting waste products. And we make people's lives safer and healthier by creating an enjoyable, natural atmosphere in the midst of urban development. Green building techniques such as passive heating and cooling, natural lighting, and whole systems approaches to wastewater disposal create places that are a joy to live, work, shop, and play in. Green buildings have been proven to increase occupant health, worker efficiency, student test scores and shopper expenditures. If we want urban areas that can sustain high standards of living and low levels of energy consumption and waste, we have to create livable, sustainable places around an efficient transit system.

The sustainability of our cities—as measured by both the quality of life they provide, and the long-term environmental protection they promise to future generations—will determine the future of our planet. Considering the host of social and environmental challenges we currently face—including climate change, air quality concerns, water scarcity, food and energy security, poverty and declining social equity—the global trend toward urbanization demands that cities will need to be a part of the solution.

New transit investments offer more than a means of moving people from one point to another; they can also be an opportunity to support, and in some cases, create communities by opening up new opportunities for people to gain access to, from, and within neighborhoods. By integrating land use, transportation, and housing policies to foster vibrant and safe mixed-use communities where residents, employees, and visitors can walk, bicycle, or take transit to reach their destinations, cities can continue to grow in a manner that is healthy for both people and the planet. And perhaps most importantly, if done well, this growth is an opportunity not a sacrifice, because the end result will be great urban places for people. Such is the vision of transit-oriented communities (TOC).

There is an extensive and growing body of published research providing evidence that well-designed TOC can lead to substantial social and environmental benefits. In brief, TOC have the potential to:

Promote health by encouraging walking and bicycling, cutting air pollution, and reducing motor vehicle accidents;
Lower household expenses for both transportation and housing;
Reduce municipal infrastructure costs;
Provide a high return on public investment in transit infrastructure;
Help meet the growing demand for walkable neighborhoods;
Curb land consumption and thereby help conserve working farms and forests, and protect natural ecosystems and water quality; and
Cut energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions associated with both transportation and the built environment.

Measures

The overarching goal of TOC is to provide housing and transportation choices that give residents access to homes, jobs, recreation opportunities, shopping, and services to meet their daily needs, without having to rely on a motorized personal vehicle. This has the long-term result of increasing the quality of life in urban residential areas, reducing the cost of development, lessening the environmental impacts of development, and reducing transportation and energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. Potential site designs that meet the following performance goals would represent high-performing TOC.

Bicycle and Pedestrian Connectivity: TOC areas should provide a complete pedestrian and bicycle network to facilitate safe non-motorized vehicle transportation and promote easy access to transit.
Housing Affordability: TOC areas should provide housing that is affordable to a broad range of incomes to accommodate and encourage a diverse, mixed-income community.
Residential and Employment Density: TOC areas should provide opportunities to accommodate future population and employment growth in order to support transit use, encourage economic development and promote social equity.
Mix of Uses: TOC areas should include a range of uses to provide access and choices in housing, employment, stores and community services to meet daily residents' needs.
Green infrastructure and Open space: TOC areas should provide park and open space, public areas, and recreational opportunities to meet the needs of a community with a moderate to high residential and employment density.
Parking: TOC areas should include auto and bike parking policies and requirements that encourage housing affordability, safe pedestrian streetscapes, and less reliance on private automobiles.
Urban design: TOC areas should feature well-designed buildings, streetscapes and public spaces that support pedestrian safety and promote neighborhood character and values.

UTS Partners

WWU Faculty:
	Professor Nicholas Zaferatos, Urban Planning
	Professor Paul Stangl, Urban Planning
	Professor Troy Abel, Environmental Policy
	Professor Arunas Oslapas, Industrial Design
City of Bellingham:
	Chris Koch, Lead project planner
	Chris Comeau, transportation planning resource
	Darby Galligan, UTS coordinating planner
Sustainable Connections:
	Nick Hartridge
Whatcom Transit Authority:
	Rick Nicholson