In classic hill towns, people showed innovation and dynamic placemaking--lessons learned for urbanism in the new century, says Chuck Wolfe.
Wolfe argues that the topography of a town built into a hillside or a series of hills (hillside towns in France, for example, or even Seattle or San Francisco) force cities to utilize a number of New Urbanist ideals that can be applied elsewhere:
"These features include: a blending with with natural topography; a pedestrian identity, with limited vehicular access; an emphasis on aesthetic principles (views to and from); communal groupings of institutions around public open space..."
Thanks to Chuck Wolfe
Read the full story: hill towns as icons of placemaking
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City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
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The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello