By Neil Dawson
It should be no surprise that the way our built environment is created directly affects our physical well-being and our health as well as the quality of our daily lives. But how strong is the link between design and public health? Local studies show that 24% of all Coastal Georgia residents are classified as obese and 29% of people in the Savannah area report that they have not exercised in the last 30 days (www.gachd.org). This seems strangely ironic in a city whose town plan has been hailed one of the most human-scaled, pedestrian-friendly diagrams for city organization in the entire country.
As an architect (and someone whose life work is the built environment), I am forced to question the factors of my profession that contribute to the demise of our community’s health and seek ways to set these wrongs right. Perhaps the first step is to determine what factors influence a healthy environment. The AIA (American Institute of Architects) has defined Ten Principles of Livable Communities (check out www.aia.org/livable for all 10 principles), all of which collectively contribute to the health and success of a neighborhood, community or city as a whole. I was intrigued to discover how many of these principles are related to physical well-being, both directly and indirectly. Even more intriguing was the realization that our very own historic district, the square mile where I spend my working week, is an excellent model of the potential success of these ten principles. If these principles are present and thriving in our own city, certainly there is much to be learned about how they can be applied to what we build today.
1. Design on a Human Scale
Compact, pedestrian-friendly communities allow residents to walk to shops, services, cultural resources, and jobs and can reduce traffic congestion and benefit people’s health.
There are many components of our downtown that were carefully designed with a human in mind. Ample sidewalks, large enough to accommodate umbrella café tables, are the lifeline of connectivity in the city and provide opportunities for residents and visitors alike to engage one another. Street trees create a living buffer between pedestrian and automobile traffic. Bicycle racks accommodate alternate transportation options. The dense and eclectic variety of uses inherent in our city allows pedestrians the opportunity to tackle daily tasks and responsibilities on foot, not only encouraging independence from the car but also providing opportunities for human interaction along the way. Buildings are successfully pedestrian-friendly when they have a constant dialogue with the street. A store window of a shop on Wright Square interacts with the pedestrian by creating a transparency between inside and outside. Passersby experience a glimpse of what lies inside while the shopkeeper is constantly connected to the life of the square and what is going on outside.
2. Provide Choices
People want variety in housing, shopping, recreation, transportation, and employment. Variety creates lively neighborhoods and accommodates residents in different stages of their lives.
Oglethorpe’s plan assured the option to choose by incorporating both tything blocks and trust blocks into the wards, insuring diverse building types and sizes. Housing options downtown are extremely varied from three-story row houses on Monterrey Square to loft housing overlooking Broughton Street to multi-family apartments on Oglethorpe Square - accommodating the retired entrepreneur and SCAD student alike. The mixed-use environment of the historic district insures a variety of employment opportunities for people of all ages and walks of life.
3. Encourage Mixed-Use Development
Integrating different land uses and varied building types creates vibrant, pedestrian-friendly and diverse communities.
Savannah’s squares alone embody a successful model for mixed-use development which was put into practice over 270 years ago. Think of the variety of uses that border the individual squares – government buildings, the post office, churches, synagogues, single-family row houses, multi-family apartment buildings, banks, schools, cafés, museums, The Red Cross, SCAD academic buildings, clothing boutiques, tourist services, chocolatiers, theaters, book stores, law offices, photography studios – all cohabiting around pedestrian green spaces created for the collective whole. Mixed-use development is very much a founding component of Savannah’s history.
4. Preserve Urban Centers
Restoring, revitalizing, and infilling urban centers take advantage of existing streets, services and buildings and avoids the need for new infrastructure. This helps to curb sprawl and promote stability for city neighborhoods.
Certainly, the presence of SCAD in our downtown can attest to the positive influence that preserving urban centers can have on a district. Not only has the College saved numerous buildings that would have otherwise remained dilapidated but it has also inserted activity and use into the city in pockets where there were gaps, resulting in a stronger more cohesive community. Taking advantage of the resources that already exist in a neighborhood reduces waste and can truly have a Gestalt effect.
5. Vary Transportation Options
Giving people the option of walking, biking and using public transit, in addition to driving, reduces traffic congestion, protects the environment and encourages physical activity.
The plan really allows for the pedestrian to have the right-of-way throughout the city. Wide sidewalks carry on-foot travelers from square to square without much interruption from auto traffic. The experience of walking from block to block through the squares is such a pleasant one that you easily find yourself venturing much further than you would ever choose to walk through a sea of parking in a strip-center on the Southside. In addition, think of all of the choices one has to get around downtown other than the car – city bus, open-air trolley, bicycle, pedicab, horse-drawn carriage or your own two feet.
6. Build Vibrant Public Spaces
Citizens need welcoming, well-defined public places to stimulate face-to-face interaction, collectively celebrate and mourn, encourage civic participation, admire public art, and gather for public events.
Forsyth Park is an outstanding model of such a place. Its ample green space allows for a diverse collection of events to occur – both planned as well as informal. It is a grand host to various cultural celebrations, art festivals, musical concerts, weddings, philanthropic events as well as daily dog walks, Saturday morning Frisbee tosses and a place to relax and eat a sandwich at lunch. Its meandering, azalea lined paths, playgrounds, tennis courts and black tops encourage group interaction and provide a place for us to be physically active amongst our neighbors.
7. Create a Neighborhood Identity
A “sense of place” gives neighborhoods a unique character, enhances the walking environment, and creates pride in the community.
Again, the squares are an excellent example of this principle as each is unique and has its own sense of place. The squares vary in size as well as what building types/functions surround them. There are diverse combinations featuring seating, monuments, fountains, public art, gazebos, various landscaping, etc. Walking through Johnson Square on a Friday at noon, you may be so privileged as to behold local elderly couples and children alike, dancing happily to live polka music – the cries of accordions lingering in the low limbs of the live oaks as you make your way to grab lunch on Broughton Street. This is very different from the experience you’ll have making your way around Crawford Square at 4:00 on your way to Polk’s Market – witnessing neighborhood boys battling it out in an intense game of basketball, reminding you of what it means to be fourteen. Each square has its own story and depending upon the time of day, whether you are a visitor to the city or call these squares home, whether you are on foot or circling it in a car, the sense of place is evident.
Can a community exist without taking into account these principles? Certainly it can, but it will not be able to thrive. These principles have characteristics that overlap one another but consideration of each one is critical to the success of an environment if we can all agree that the health of a community requires interacting with other people, incorporating physical activity into our lives and being connected to a greater whole. An environment that is designed around a car instead of a human will inherently lack the vitality necessary to be truly livable. Failure to provide choices impairs diversity and minimizes the likelihood that a community will be made up of people of various age groups, cultures and income levels. When there is a separation of uses, people are forced to rely on their cars, which immediately isolates them and denies them much needed opportunities for physical exercise. Allowing urban centers to lay empty creates pockets of inactivity and promotes sprawl. Without a variety of transportation options, car traffic is congested, adversely affecting the environment and our health. In addition, residents, especially children and the elderly become secluded and cut off from their surroundings. Without vibrant public spaces in which to take part in community events and activities, people can’t help but become isolated. Without open spaces for recreation and physical activity, people become stagnant and health certainly suffers. Without a unique sense of place, neighborhoods become indistinguishable, denying residents the opportunity to feel pride and a sense of belonging in their community. An environment that does not embody the principles will always struggle with these obstacles.
Architects, engineers and planners have a responsibility to be mindful in their designs – to be stewards of livable communities. Our profession must actively protect the health of the people by understanding that the design choices we make day in and day out have the ability to help or hinder a community. Cesar Pelli once said “The city is more important than the building.” I think the founding father of our great city would have agreed. Our historic district is an exceptional example of a livable community and it’s not a wonder that living within its confines is such a coveted prospect. With our health and well-being at stake, learning from the success of such communities and putting these ideals into action as we continue to create new environments is crucial.