238 Basic principles for molding land mosaics
which help reduce flooding, filter water pollutants through the soil, and
improve water quality and fish populations in water bodies.
(F) Wetlanduses. Multi-use wetlands with adequate water flow and attrac-
tive paths or boardwalks help provide recreation, biodiversity, aesthet-
ics, flood control, and pollutant absorption, and can separate or center
neighborhoods.Social dimensions and sense of community
(A) Acentral park.Parks in the center of communities normally are inten-
sively used, serve as meeting places, receive considerable maintenance,
and have severely degraded nature.
(B) Alinear edge park.Anedgeparkalongtheborder of a community pro-
vides amenities for the existing community and for present or future
outside communities, and, with limited human use, provides natural
habitat and connectivity for movement of some species.
(C) Market-gardens.Market-gardening (truck farming) near a city provides
fresh fruits and vegetables at low transport cost to city markets and
restaurants, plus diverse environmental benefits on the city’s outskirts.
(D) Human habitat.For planning purposes, a good human habitat is a com-
munity offering a choice in the diversity of frequently needed and used
places (e.g., grocery, school, park, eatery) located in relative proximity
to its residents.
(E) Neighborhood units.Neighborhoods serve as the basic social and planning
units of a larger community or district, and several neighborhoods con-
nected to a cultural and/or shopping center are likely to sustain the
larger community.
(F) Urban district.Anaggregation of interacting neighborhoods with a dis-
tinctive identity forms a district (or urban ‘‘village”), a place that resi-
dents identify with and that the broader city or metropolitan area uses
foridentification and planning.
(G) Green, profitable, and fair.Combining environmental protection, econo-
mic growth/efficiency, and social justice/economic opportunity/income
equality as equal parts under the rubric of sustainable development still
seems to be utopian, marketing, impossible, or a ruse, yet balancing
such big human and environmental objectives is attainable and should
be the norm.
(H) Aesthetics and basics.Adding aesthetic forms, after providing the basics
of water, neighborhoods, jobs, natural areas, etc. for a community,
enhances a sense of place and stimulates people to actively care for it.