A Bird's Eye View

3. Design Matters

Density expresses a ratio-most often the number of housing units to the area of land. It tells us something about how much activity is compressed into a given area, but it reveals nothing about physical form. Two neighborhoods with the exact same density can look as different as night and day. Although they measure out at the same density they are not necessarily perceived to be equally dense. What really matters is how the streets are laid out, how the land is subdivided, how the buildings are arranged and detailed, whether trees are planted, where the sidewalks lead. These are all functions of design.

These two neighborhood blocks couldn't be more different, yet they have the exact same density of 11.7 units per acre.

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