Part I: Urban Design Guidelines for All Subdivision and Development in the District

7    Street and Lot Layout

7.2    Lot Design for a Mix of Housing Types and Frontage to Public Streets

With simple design, lots can be orientated to enable residents to capitalise on views, take advantage of solar access and minimise the discomfort of prevailing winds. The layout of lots should provide for a mix of housing types, lot sizes and densities with smaller lots and higher densities close to centres, public transport and facilities.

People want to live in an environment where they feel safe and secure. Subdivisions, and particularly the spaces within them, should be carefully designed and managed so that the fear of crime and the actual incidence of crime are reduced; passive surveillance of public spaces is one effective way of achieving this. Passive surveillance results from the presence of people in public space, or people have the opportunity to overlook public space. Lots that front on to shared driveways do not promote this. An example of creating opportunities for passive surveillance is shown in Figure 5. Passive surveillance requires attention to both the subdivision layout and the elements of residential environment such as lighting, fences, planting and the relationship of houses to the road and public spaces.

Figure 5: An example of lot orientation that provides passive surveillance of the street, sun penetration and frontage to public open space

Developers should consider the following design elements to maximise opportunities for sunlight access:

• Aligning roads north/south and lots east/west where possible.
• Provide lots with sufficient area and dimensions to meet user needs. Ideally lots should be rectangular in shape and ensure a variety of different sized lots.
• Arrange lots along the road frontage. Avoid developing rear lots within a block.
• Design urban blocks for lots to have fronts facing fronts and backs facing backs.
• Design lots to ensure sheltered microclimates can be delivered.
• Incorporate the principles of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) in the development of subdivisions*.

(*Refer to the National Guidelines for Crime Prevention through Environmental Design in New Zealand (available from the Ministry of Justice)).