Presented May 2013, University of Oklahoma College of Architecture, Master of Regional and City Planning.

1. MAY AVENUE URBAN INTERVENTIONS:
Using GIS to assess the quality of urban form and
simulate effects of possible solutions in Oklahoma City
Shane Hampton

2. URBAN FORM
• Street layout and design elements
• Block size and shape
• Parcel size and shape
• Population or employment density
• Floor area ratios
• Land use mix
• Open space network
• Shape and position of buildings on parcels
• Parking lots
• Details like window or door placement

3. URBAN FORM

4. URBAN FORM

5. URBAN FORM

6. URBAN FORM

7. IMPACTS OF URBAN FORM
• Public Health
• Society and Community
• Fiscal Sustainability
• Economy
• Environment

8. PUBLIC HEALTH
Counties with low density and large block size have lower rates
of physical activity and higher rates of obesity and high blood
pressure.
Reid Ewing et al (2003).
Relationship Between Urban Sprawl, Physical Activity, Obesity, and Morbidity.
AmericanJournalofHealthPromotion.

9. PUBLIC HEALTH
Higher housing densities predicted less depression. Areas with
higher density of car commuters had more depression.
Rebecca Miles et al (2011)
Neighborhood Urban Form, Social Environment, and Depression.
JournalofUrbanHealth

10. HEALTH IN OKLAHOMA
• 1/3 Obese
• 2/3 Obese or Overweight (#6 in USA)
• Top ten for diabetes, physical inactivity, hypertension

11. SOCIETY & COMMUNITY
Automobile dependency and social isolation take away from
community, while urbanist approaches could enhance or
stimulate a sense of community.
Steven Cochrun (1994)
Understanding and Enhancing Neighborhood Sense of Community.
JournalofPlanningLiterature.

12. SOCIETY & COMMUNITY
Architectural elements are thought to encourage people to spend
time in the public realm and increase social interaction.
However,“the theoretical and empirical support for the notion that
sense of community can be created via physical design factors is
ambiguous at best”
EmilyTalen (1998)
Sense of Community and Neighbourhood Form:
An Assessment of the Social Doctrine of New Urbanism.
UrbanStudies.

13. FISCAL & ECONOMIC
Compact urban form saves money on infrastructure and
improves the efficiency of emergency services.
William Coyne (2003)
TheFiscalCostofSprawl:HowSprawlContributestoLocalGovernments’BudgetWoes.
Environment Colorado Research and Policy Center Report.

14. FISCAL & ECONOMIC
Economic development may depend on creating walkable urban
centers as consumer preferences change.
Gary Pivo & Jeff Fisher (2011)
TheWalkability Premium in Commercial Real Estate Investments.”RealEstate
Economics

15. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Sprawl consumes open space, farmland, and natural habitat at a
much greater rate than compact development.
Burchell et al (2005)
SprawlCosts:EconomicImpactsofUncheckedDevelopment

16. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Automobile-oriented design requires more impervious surfaces
that increase runoff, erosion, and water pollution.
John Bailey et al (2009)
OurWaytoWaterShortages:HowSprawlAggravatestheEffectsofDrought.

17. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Residents of compact urban areas with transit access consume
40-50% less energy.
Jonathan Rose Companies (2011)
LocationEfficienciesandHousingType.

18. DISSENTING VIEWPOINT
“In attributing primary causal power to physical form… the
New Urbanism reifies and conceals a wider range of causal forces
at work.”
Charles Rutheiser (1997)

19. MEASURING URBAN FORM
“What gets measured gets done.”

20. Measure
Existing
Conditions
Analyze
Strengths &
Weaknesses
Propose
Interventions
Simulate and
Evaluate
Inform Policies
and Development
Incentives

21. MEASURING URBAN FORM
• Accesibility
• Connectivity
• Density
• Diversity
• Nodality
EmilyTalen (2011)
Sprawl retrofit: sustainable urban form in unsustainable places.
EnvironmentandPlanningB:PlanningandDesign

22. MEASURING URBAN FORM
• Population density
• Geographic proximity to services
• Block size
• Sidewalks and bike lanes
Chanam Lee and Anne Moudon (2006)
The 3Ds + R: Quantifying land use and urban form correlates of walking.
TransportationResearchPartD

23. MEASURING URBAN FORM
• Street network: Block perimeter, cul-de-sac ratio
• Density: Lot size, housing unit density
• Land use mix ratio
• Accessibility: Distance to commercial, transit, park
• Pedestrian access: % of units within ¼ mile of commercial land
use, % of units within ¼ mile of transit
Yan Song & Gerrit-Jan Knapp (2004)
Measuring Urban Form: Is PortlandWinning theWar on Sprawl?
JournaloftheAmericanPlanningAssociation

24. MEASURING URBAN FORM
• Population Density
• Land Use Mix
• Accessibility
– Proximity to Commerce
– Proximity to Park Space
– Proximity toTransit
• Connectivity
– Area within ¼ Mile
– Intersection Density

25. MEASURING URBAN FORM

26. OKLAHOMA CITY
NORTH MAY AVENUE
I-44 to 63rd St.

29. NW EXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVE
N
Study Area
Census Blocks & Parcels

30. MID-CENTURY URBAN FORM
“Blighted… obsolete… inadequate… leapfrogged”
GalinaTachieva (2010)
TheSprawlRepairManual

31. MID-CENTURY URBAN FORM
Mid-century urban form is a middle ground between new
urbanist nostalgia and the car.
Richard Reep (2010)
Beyond Neo-Victorianism: A Call for Design Diversity
NewGeography

44. GIS MEASURES
• Block-level Census Data
• Parcels
• Streets
• Zoning
• Building Footprints (2004)
• Public Parks
• Transit Routes

45. NWEXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVE
Population Density
(Per Square Mile)
Legend
0 - 1,293
1,294 - 3,848
3,849 - 5,978
5,979 - 9,925
9,926 - 19,139
N
WarwickWest
Tiffany House
Lakeview
Towers
Big Box Stores
Big Box Stores
United Founders
Boulevard
Hospital

46. NWEXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVE
Land Use Mix within 1/4 Mile
0 = Homogenous, 1 = Even Mix
Legend
0.0000 - 0.1268
0.1269 - 0.4058
0.4059 - 0.5926
0.5927 - 0.7844
0.7845 - 0.9680
N

47. NWEXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVE
Percent of Parcels
Within 1/4 Mile of Park or Open Space
Legend
0% - 11%
12% - 31%
32% - 44%
45% - 73%
74% - 100%
N
Park
Median
Smitty
Ross

48. NW EXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVE
Percent of Parcels
Within 1/4 Mile ofTransit
Legend
0% - 12%
13% - 34%
35% - 67%
68% - 89%
90% - 100%
N
Bus Route
7
7
8
10
10
7
7 88 10
7
7

49. NWEXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVE
Percent of Parcels
Within 1/4 Mile of Commercial
Legend
0% - 6%
7% - 24%
25% - 48%
49% - 80%
81% - 100%
N

50. NWEXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVE
Area of 1/4 Mile Network Buffer
Square Miles
Legend
0.0065 - 0.0281
0.0282 - 0.0553
0.0554 - 0.0740
0.0741 - 0.0937
0.0938 - 0.1146
N

51. NWEXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVE
Intersection Density
Per Square Mile
Legend
0.0000 - 52.0513
52.0514 - 101.0599
101.0600 - 130.9415
130.9416 - 157.1434
157.1435 - 227.0958
N

52. NWEXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVEComposite Score
Legend
Lowest Performing
Highest Performing
N

54. SPRAWL REPAIR
“Propose strategically located interventions addressing explicit
deficiencies.”
EmilyTalen (2011)
Sprawl retrofit: sustainable urban form in unsustainable places.
EnvironmentandPlanningB:PlanningandDesign.

55. SPRAWL REPAIR
• Retrofitting Suburbia (Ellen Dunham Jones and June
Williamson 2008)
• Sprawl Repair Manual (GalinaTachieva 2010)

56. SPRAWL REPAIR
• New street connectivity
• New building types and land use mixes
• Redevelopment of sprawl land uses
• Parking lot infill development
• Arterial street redesign

57. SPRAWL REPAIR

58. SPRAWL REPAIR

59. SPRAWL REPAIR

60. SPRAWL REPAIR

61. SPRAWL REPAIR

62. SPRAWL REPAIR

63. Figure Ground: Before

64. Figure Ground: After
NorthwestExpressway
United Founders Boulevard

65. NWEXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVE
Percent of Parcels
Within 1/4 Mile of Park or Open Space
Legend
0% - 11%
12% - 31%
32% - 44%
45% - 73%
74% - 100%
N
Park
Median
Smitty
Ross

66. NWEXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVEPost-Intervention Percent of Parcels
Within 1/4 Mile of Park
Legend
0% - 6%
7% - 28%
29% - 44%
45% - 80%
81% - 100%
N
Median
Smitty
Ross
New

67. NWEXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVE
Population Density
(Per Square Mile)
Legend
0 - 1,293
1,294 - 3,848
3,849 - 5,978
5,979 - 9,925
9,926 - 19,139
N
WarwickWest
Tiffany House
Lakeview
Towers
Big Box Stores
Big Box Stores
United Founders
Boulevard
Hospital

68. NWEXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVEPost-Intervention Population Density
(Per Square Mile)
Legend
0 - 1,301
1,302 - 3,848
3,849 - 5,979
5,980 - 9,925
9,926 - 19,153
N

69. NWEXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVE
Area of 1/4 Mile Network Buffer
Square Miles
Legend
0.0065 - 0.0281
0.0282 - 0.0553
0.0554 - 0.0740
0.0741 - 0.0937
0.0938 - 0.1146
N

70. NWEXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVE
Post-Intervention Area of 1/4 Mile
Network Buffer (Square Miles)
Legend
0.006710 - 0.042128
0.042129 - 0.065889
0.065890 - 0.082353
0.082354 - 0.099172
0.099173 - 0.142839
N

71. NWEXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVEComposite Score
Legend
Lowest Performing
Highest Performing
N

72. NWEXPRESSWAY
LAKEHEFNERPKWY
W I-44 HWY
NMAYAVE
NW 63RD ST
NVILLAAVEPost-Intervention Composite Score
Legend
Lowest Performing
Highest Performing
N

73. EVALUATION OF MODEL
• Reliable, but not independent
• Easily replicable over larger scale
• Macro land use ratio
• Variables measure street network more than once
• Z-scores are relative
• Variable scores may be more relevant than composites

74. POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS
• More consistent indexing
• Establish regional ideal values for each variable

75. FUTURE APPLICATIONS
• Set urban form target achievements
• Determine weaknesses
• Identify sites for“urban triage”
• Test impact of solutions, proposed developments
• Measure performance
• Influence development incentives & policy

76. MAY AVENUE URBAN INTERVENTIONS:
Using GIS to assess the quality of urban form and
simulate effects of possible solutions in Oklahoma City
Shane Hampton