CONNECTIVITY ORDINANCES IN OREGON MUNICIPALITIES IMPACTS OF STREET LAYOUT REGULATION IN RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISIONS

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Date

2018

Authors

Pike, Brandon

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management, University of Oregon

Abstract

Street connectivity ordinances influence development practices and the built environment within cities, dictating street layout for the foreseeable future. Cities in Oregon, a state with a robust statewide planning program and stated goals which include urban growth boundaries that regulate development in urban areas, utilize a number of strategies to regulate street layout and connectivity. This study examines both the effects those strategies have had on the built environment and how effective or ineffective they have been over time in three Oregon cities: Beaverton, Bend, and Hillsboro. Bend adopted new connectivity ordinances in 2006, offering a chance to research street connectivity before and after that point. This study’s findings indicate that, after adoption, Bend’s new ordinances worked to moderately increase intersection density, one of the most widely-used metrics for measuring street connectivity. This occurred alongside intersection density levels which decreased in the other two cities over the study period. This study also addresses the greater context of what those policies and their outcomes mean to urban areas and their residents long-term. Finally, the study presents a handful of other findings that appeared in the research related to transit and street connectivity, as well as zoning and street connectivity.

Description

46 pages

Keywords

street connectivity, street layout, walkability, active transportation, block size

Citation