The Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) Code defines "The Transect" as an analytical system that extends from the natural to the urban, thereby including the range of environments that support the viability of all species.

The idea of a continuum from natural landscapes to the most intense urban conditions has long been central to urban and regional planning, but its implications have not always been clearly understood. In recent years, however, the urban/rural transect has become the basis of a new integrative approach to planning and design. The transect-based approach combines the principles of traditional neighborhood design with an environmental perspective on urbanism more generally. Along with its comprehensive perspective, it brings analytical precision and empirical techniques derived from environmental science to the task of planning and designing human habitats. In this way, the urban/rural transect has emerged as a powerful theory for understanding the variety of human and natural environments that make up a regional system, establishing a framework for contextually sensitive urban design that allows us to envision a full palette of good neighborhoods, and serving as a basis for writing codes that can resolve complicated issues encountered in implementing Smart Growth principles in neighborhoods, towns, cities, and regions.

This seminar will provide a complete introduction to the theory and practice of transect-oriented planning and urban design. Participants in the seminar will have an opportunity to discuss application of the Transect to a full range of urban and environmental issues, working with experts from relevant disciplines: architecture, urban design, planning, traffic engineering, environmental science, and social science. The seminar will explore the value of the transect as the basis for a common vocabulary that operates across specialized fields, as a theory that brings clarity to the interconnected problems of urban and environmental planning and enables practical techniques for articulating clear and effective solutions. Using real examples, presenters will explain the details of transect-based codes, and will discuss advantages compared with conventional coding as well as the practical challenges of implementation in specific cases. Overall, the aim of the seminar is to provide participants with a solid conceptual understanding of the Transect and a detailed grasp of the techniques of transect-oriented practice.

Related Link: www.theseasideinstitute.org

For more information contact:

Leslie Scott
The Seaside Institute
30 Smolian Circle, 2nd Floor
Santa Rosa Beach
FL 32459
USA

Phone: 850-231-2421
Fax: 850-231-1884
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.theseasideinstitute.org