Streets

• “Streets are public rights-of-way, which unite

neighborhoods, provide access for motorists and non-
motorists, and promote urban identity, health, comfort,
and safety.” A street is a public thoroughfare (usually
paved) in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land
adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people
may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street
can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more
often paved with a hard, durable surface such as
concrete, cobblestone or brick. Portions may also be
smoothed with asphalt, embedded with rails, or
otherwise prepared to accommodate non-pedestrian
traffic.
 Roads are characterized by its:
movement between places ,the principle lines
of communication between places;
a two-dimensional ribbon;
running on the surface of the landscape;
and carried over it by bridge or beneath by
tunnel.
EUROPIAN STREET NETWORK STANDARDS
AMERICAN STREET NETWORK STANDARDS

Types of street Interval Width of right of Paved Mile per Side walk
intersection way width hour

1 Major arterial 804.6m 36.5 – 45.72m 25.6m 35-40 1.5-3m and

48.7m set back
is required

2 Minor arterial 1,207- 24.4m 18.3m 35-40 1.5-3.04m

1,609.3m

3 Collector street 402.3-804.6m 19.5m 13.4m 30 1.2m with

plantation

4 Local street At block 15.24m 10.9m 25 1.2m

5 Cul-de-sac Only when 15.24m 9.4- - Should not

practical 10.9m have a length
greater than
152.4m
ADDIS ABABA STREET NETWORK STANDARDS
 The Block

Blocks are the field on which unfolds both the building fabric and the
public realm of the city. A versatile, ancient instrument, the traditional
block allows a mutually beneficial relationship between people and
vehicles in urban space.

Size: Blocks are to be square, rectangular or irregular in their shape. In

their historical dimensions, they vary between a minimum of 76.2 and
maximum of 198.2m. This dimensional range allows single buildings to
easily reach the edges of blocks at all densities. It also forces parking
to be located away from the sidewalk, either underground, in the middle
of the block, or in the street.

Configuration: Independent of shape, city blocks are to be lotted so

that all of their sides can define public space. A variety of widths and
depths of individual lots determine the range of building types and
densities that will eventually establish the intended city fabric. Alleys
shall absorb parking and servicing loads and allow the outer faces of
blocks to become more intensely pedestrian.
• Streetground: At its perimeter, each block is to be divided into
parkway, sidewalk and setback. Within each block lobbies, major
ground floor interior spaces and public gardens of all kinds and
sizes are to be understood as an extension of the public space of
the city.

Streetwalls: The predominant visual character of all built fabric

depends on several attributes of building envelopes: Their height,
mandated setbacks and projections define the enclosure of the
street. Their maximum width along with their height define a
building's mass. Setback lines and the percentage build-to at their
edges establish the fundamental rhythm between open space and
built form on each block. Threshold elements at the setback line
such as arcades, porches, stoops, balconies, loggias, chimneys,
doors and windows, are the means by which buildings interface with
and determine the life of the street.
Parking: The omnipresence of cars within the public realm threatens
the vitality of cities. Accommodating the pedestrian is the first order of
priority for parking. Cars are best accommodated in the middle of
blocks or underground. Parking garages are acceptable as long as their
ground floors at the sidewalk are occupied by pedestrian-related uses.
Parking garages are regular buildings, and as such, need significant
public faces and the built-in spatial redundancy necessary for a future
use other than parking. Where parking lots are inevitable they should
double up as significant public gardens.

Landscape: Regularly planted trees along blocks establish the overall

space and scale of the street as well as that of the sidewalk. These
artifacts from man's historical contact with nature remain a psychically
critical element of Urbanism. The choice of particular species of trees
and the patterns of their placement affect light and shadow, color,
views - all significant aspects of the experience of place. Public open
space types (civic parks, Neighborhood parks, etc.) and semi-public
ones (quads, courtyards, patios) determine the internal character of
urban blocks.
Organisation Open Space Standard Type of Open Space

Bridgnorth District Uses NPFA* Play space

Council Standards currently under review Amenity space
Local Plan Policy
Cambridge City Based on NPFA. Equates to the Play space
Council following: Amenity open space
Local Plan Policy •Bed spaces = 160-180m 2
•Formal green space +150-180m 2
•Informal space +20-30m 2
•Children's play space
Fareham Borough Uses NPFA* Sports facilities
Council 1.6ha/ 1,000 people outdoor sport Play space
Supplementary which splits into:
Planning Guidance: •1.2ha/ 1,000 people of pitches.
Open Space •0.4ha/ 1,000 people of other
outdoor sports facilities
0.8ha/ 1,000 people of children's
play space which splits into:
•0.2ha/ 1,000 people of equipped
children's play space.
•0.6ha/ 1,000 people of informal
play space.
 Forest of Dean Uses NPFA* Play space
District Council Standards currently under review Amenity pace
Local Plan Policy
Greater London London's Open Space Hierarchy, based on Public parks
Authority indicative catchment for different sizes of Linear Open
Guide to parks. Spaces
Preparing Open Over 400 ha 8km Regional
Space Strategies
60-400 ha 3.2km Metropolitan
March 2004
20-60ha 1.2km District
2-20 ha 400m Local parks
0.4-2ha 400m Small local
parks
<0.4ha 400m Pocket parks
variable where feasible Linear Open
Spaces

Greenwich Council Uses old Greater London

Local Plan Policy Council Hierarchy
Highland Council
Development Plan Policy Guidelines:
Residential Standards (Oct 2003)
Middlesborough Council
Local Plan Policy
Based on a standard of 60m 2 public Play space
open space per dwelling. Including: Private open space
•5-15 houses, 300-900m2 play space Sports pitches
(unequipped).
•16-75 houses, 900-4500m2 play
space and kick-about pitch.
•76-250 houses, 4500-15000m2 play
space, kick-about pitch.
•251-500 houses, 15000-30000m2
play space, kick-about pitch and full
sized pitch.
•501+ houses, 30,000+m2 play space,
kick-about pitch, older children's play
area and large park (incl. 2 pitches).
Uses NPFA* Play space
Applies Green Flag Amenity open space
Standards for larger parks