Reconnecting the lost art (and science) of city, town and community building!
With all the chatter about housing, housing shortfalls, loneliness, and resistance to brownfield developments (intensification), it could be quite easy to throw out the baby with the bathwater while tying ourselves into knots on how to reconnect what is essentially the lost art (and science) of city, town and community building.
It not need be that way either whether building a new town or city, undertaking Brownfield developments (intensification), or even undergoing urban renewal (which includes Greyfields (ex-industry to residential and commercial). And unless we are within 800m of a rapid transit station (busway, light rail, metro rail, and/or heavy rail) or inside a Metropolitan Centre (your second tier Centres behind the City Centre) we need not scare the horses (people) either with high density residential and commercial either.
But we still have a housing situation, low density won’t cut it, and high density as mentioned above is not exactly going to garner supporters either. Especially as we (Planners, urbanists, and allies alike) try and not only get housing off the ground again, but using housing to reconnect those cities, those towns, and those communities.
Reconnecting the lost art (and science) of city, town and community building!
Enter the the Missing Middle; to enabling the complete package, including those Universal Connections!
Source: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2016/6/29/the-next-baby-boom-affordable-urban-lifestyles-for-millennials-with-children
Source: Strong Towns
The Missing Middle enables housing that is universal in meeting the needs of a heterogenous demographic: Young, Old, Families, Singles, Couples, working, retired in place, able, disabled, starting out, up-sizing, down-sizing, multigeneration, and both PROMOTING MIXED USE AND GREEN UTILITY. The Missing Middle can anywhere in a city annd/or town, it gives the density required for growing urban areas but it also gentle!
The Missing Middle enables Gentle Density that then enables Complete Neighbourhoods
High Density?
Again , do not worry, High Density is always there when within 800m of a rapid transit station (busway, light rail, metro rail or heavy rail), or inside a Metropolitan Centre / City Centre. And often they need their own set of unique (bespoke) treatments when “Reconnecting the lost art (and science) of city, town and community building!” Example: Manukau City Centre (A Node, and Metropolitan Centre under the Auckland Spatial Plan)
Talking Southern Auckland 