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Streetcar strip to neighbourhood centre: the characteristics of good neighbourhood shopping streets examined in the context of Commercial Drive and West 41st Avenue

University of British Columbia

Good neighbourhood shopping streets have long been significant in their ability to provide goods and services within walking distance of neighbourhood residents, to create a rich public realm, and to foster a sense of community. Far removed from their past as streetcar strips, the neighbourhood shopping street is once again being looked at as an important element of the urban environment. The purpose of this thesis is to determine the characteristics of good neighbourhood shopping streets and to examine these characteristics in the context of two Vancouver case studies—Commercial Drive and West 41st Avenue. Based on a review of planning, urban design, and landscape architecture literature, the fundamental principles of good neighbourhood shopping streets are revealed. Specifically, a good neighbourhood shopping street is accessible, comfortable, sociable, a place, adaptable, beautiful, and diverse. Flowing from these principles, and the means to them, are the characteristics of good neighbourhood shopping streets—buildings that relate to the street, good walking facilities, pedestrian amenities, traffic management, street activity, neighbourhood goods and services, maintenance, supportive neighbourhood context, and supportive government. The research suggests that real-life neighbourhood shopping streets rarely have all the characteristics that the literature holds as ideal. Rather, some characteristics— buildings that relate to the street, street activity, neighbourhood goods and services, a supportive neighbourhood context, and supportive government—appear as fundamental to good neighbourhood shopping streets but are exhibited to varying degrees. More specifically, the case studies help illustrate what particular elements are either essential or helpful, creating a checklist that other streets can benefit from.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-05-26

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/8245

Planning

University of British Columbia

UBCV

DSpace