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Plan Policy

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Place Types: Neighborhood Center

Goal: Provide places that have a pedestrian-friendly focal point of neighborhood activity where nearby residents can access daily shopping needs and services within a 5-10 minute walk or a short drive.

Neighborhood Centers are small, walkable mixed-use areas, typically embedded within neighborhoods, that provide convenient access to goods, services, dining, and residential for nearby residents.

  • Typical uses include retail, restaurants, personal services, institutional, multi-family, and offices.
  • Some types of auto-oriented uses, well-designed to support walkability, may be located on the edges of this Place Type.
  • This Place Type is characterized by low-rise commercial, residential civic/institutional, and mixed-use buildings in a pedestrian-oriented environment.
  • Neighborhood Centers are easily and directly accessible from nearby neighborhoods to encourage walking and cycling, and to support the concept of a complete neighborhood.
  • The Local street network is well-connected, designed for slow traffic, and includes good pedestrian facilities. Arterial streets provide for safe and comfortable pedestrian, bicycle, and transit travel along and across them for easy access to and from the Neighborhood Center and surrounding areas.
  • The typical building type is a commercial, institutional, or multi-family building of four stories or fewer. Buildings are designed with active ground floor uses to support a vibrant pedestrian environment. They have tall ground floors and a high degree of transparency using clear glass windows and doors.
  • Neighborhood Centers include numerous improved open spaces such as plazas, patios, and courtyards that may include landscaping. Public open spaces such as small parks and greenways, and natural open spaces such as tree preservation areas, are also an important feature and should be included in centers.

3D arial rendering of a neighborhood center.

  1. Pedestrian-friendly focal point of neighborhood activity
  2. Ground floors with retail, front porches, or other active uses
  3. Comfortable sidewalks with street trees
  4. Highly amenitized public realm with small plazas/gathering spaces
  5. Improved pedestrian connectivity and safe crossings
  6. Rooftop patios
  7. Transition to Adjacent Place Types