by Rob Lane, Director, Regional Design Program, RPA
Stamford, Conn. is known to many people for the parade of corporate office buildings along Interstate 95. Less known is that the city is surprisingly diverse racially and economically, and offers a good mix of housing, mass transit, environmental protection and regional governance.
In 1996, RPA's Third Regional Plan identified Stamford as one of 11 'regional downtowns' that would be the centerpieces of a regional smart growth strategy exploiting existing infrastructure and attracting development that would otherwise sprawl into the landscape. The eleven regional downtowns all shared certain advantages - excellent transit access, a compact pattern of downtown development, and a critical mass of residents and employees. Six years later, it is Stamford that has emerged as a singular success - a regional powerhouse and one of the top corporate locations in the country.
But Stamford is also a city of stable, traditional neighborhoods. The new master plan, prepared by RPA in collaboration with Abeles Phillips Preiss & Shapiro, seeks to both preserve and build on these qualities and balance growth with neighborhood quality of life. The plan is in the process of completion and is expected to be approved by the Stamford Board this month.
The plan attempts to find a middle way in preserving the city's high level of economic growth, while also keeping the city open to people of all economic levels, preserving its natural beauty, enhancing its civic and community structure, and improving its efficiency. The plan was developed out of an unprecedented two year process that started with public workshops, the results of which were distilled into a final product along with the advice and guidance of professionals.
The Master Plan has four goals: A diverse city; a beautiful city; a city with a vital downtown; and a city with livable and vital neighborhoods. Toward these goals, the plan recommends the following policies, some of which are aimed at state cooperation.
• Develop a statewide affordable housing strategy. For Stamford, this means allowing all types of housing to be built in the city to accommodate a range of incomes.
• Funnel growth into existing business centers, including downtown, by bolstering mass transit and zoning business centers for development. Recognize that channeling growth into existing centers is the best way to reduce the rate of sprawl, and thus traffic and congestion. This should include related policies, like additional bikeways and better sidewalks for pedestrians. Stamford citizens should have a downtown style business center within easy reach, preferably by bicycle or walking. Recognize that Stamford cannot build its way out of traffic-congestion, or other sprawl related problems.
• Link the city's existing park and open- space areas into a physical and conceptual necklace that will improve the city's waterfront, greenways, rivers and hills and forests. These can be linked with plazas and other amenities, to create a seamless web of public space throughout the city. Develop conservation standards to protect the city's natural assets. These initiatives, which will make Stamford more friendly to biking and walking, also make its residents potentially healthier. Such improvements are examples of the RPA Healthy Communities initiative that seeks to establish a relationship between community design and health.
If these policies were reduced to their essences, they would be: enhance neighborhoods and downtown; bolster mass transit; provide housing; protect the environment.
In Stamford, as in most prosperous cities, there is a backlash against growth and some discussion of limiting it. There is some sense that high levels of growth have not always been in the interest of all citizens. While this may be true, in reality stopping growth is not an option. And in reality, steady economic and population growth keeps the city vital and prosperous. The new Master Plan attempts to allow the city to grow, and to channel that growth in such a way to make the city more prosperous, fair, efficient and beautiful.
Stamford, Conn. is known to many people for the parade of corporate office buildings along Interstate 95. Less known is that the city is surprisingly diverse racially and economically, and offers a good mix of housing, mass transit, environmental protection and regional governance.
In 1996, RPA's Third Regional Plan identified Stamford as one of 11 'regional downtowns' that would be the centerpieces of a regional smart growth strategy exploiting existing infrastructure and attracting development that would otherwise sprawl into the landscape. The eleven regional downtowns all shared certain advantages - excellent transit access, a compact pattern of downtown development, and a critical mass of residents and employees. Six years later, it is Stamford that has emerged as a singular success - a regional powerhouse and one of the top corporate locations in the country.
But Stamford is also a city of stable, traditional neighborhoods. The new master plan, prepared by RPA in collaboration with Abeles Phillips Preiss & Shapiro, seeks to both preserve and build on these qualities and balance growth with neighborhood quality of life. The plan is in the process of completion and is expected to be approved by the Stamford Board this month.
The plan attempts to find a middle way in preserving the city's high level of economic growth, while also keeping the city open to people of all economic levels, preserving its natural beauty, enhancing its civic and community structure, and improving its efficiency. The plan was developed out of an unprecedented two year process that started with public workshops, the results of which were distilled into a final product along with the advice and guidance of professionals.
The Master Plan has four goals: A diverse city; a beautiful city; a city with a vital downtown; and a city with livable and vital neighborhoods. Toward these goals, the plan recommends the following policies, some of which are aimed at state cooperation.
• Develop a statewide affordable housing strategy. For Stamford, this means allowing all types of housing to be built in the city to accommodate a range of incomes.
• Funnel growth into existing business centers, including downtown, by bolstering mass transit and zoning business centers for development. Recognize that channeling growth into existing centers is the best way to reduce the rate of sprawl, and thus traffic and congestion. This should include related policies, like additional bikeways and better sidewalks for pedestrians. Stamford citizens should have a downtown style business center within easy reach, preferably by bicycle or walking. Recognize that Stamford cannot build its way out of traffic-congestion, or other sprawl related problems.
• Link the city's existing park and open- space areas into a physical and conceptual necklace that will improve the city's waterfront, greenways, rivers and hills and forests. These can be linked with plazas and other amenities, to create a seamless web of public space throughout the city. Develop conservation standards to protect the city's natural assets. These initiatives, which will make Stamford more friendly to biking and walking, also make its residents potentially healthier. Such improvements are examples of the RPA Healthy Communities initiative that seeks to establish a relationship between community design and health.
If these policies were reduced to their essences, they would be: enhance neighborhoods and downtown; bolster mass transit; provide housing; protect the environment.
In Stamford, as in most prosperous cities, there is a backlash against growth and some discussion of limiting it. There is some sense that high levels of growth have not always been in the interest of all citizens. While this may be true, in reality stopping growth is not an option. And in reality, steady economic and population growth keeps the city vital and prosperous. The new Master Plan attempts to allow the city to grow, and to channel that growth in such a way to make the city more prosperous, fair, efficient and beautiful.
@RegionalPlan