Mixed-use development is designed to encourage a variety of community activities, locales and services to co-exist in close proximity, thereby reducing the need for extensive automobile travel. It is an antidote to the widely separated live and work centers that are conducive to urban sprawl. 

On-line Articles 

Human-Scale Neighborhoods, from Patterns of a Conservation Economy

Preservation, Mixed Use and Urban Vitality examines the roles of preservation and mixed use as two among several interconnected factors contributing to urban vitality.

Mixed-Use Key to Making Density Work, from the Urban Development Section of the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce

A Living Library, in Metropolis Magazine, profiles a Portland, Oregon development with housing above a library and restaurant.

Neighborhood and Downtown Mixed-Use Development projects are featured by the Minneapolis Community Development Agency.

Promoting Mixed Use Development focuses on the experience of Santa Cruz, California.

Travel and Environmental Implications of School Siting, released by the EPA in 2003, is the first study to empirically examine the relationship between school locations, the built environment around schools, how kids get to school, and the impact on air emissions of those travel choices.

Publications 

The Urban Land Institute offers for sale numerous books and other printed publications addressing the subject of mixed-use development, including:

Mixed Use Development Handbook, 2nd Edition 
Provides guidelines for effective mixed used development projects.

Ten Principles for Reinventing America's Suburban Business Districts
Examines ways of turning suburban shopping districts into walkable, mixed-use developments. (PDF)

Place Making: Developing Town Centers, Main Streets, and Urban Villages
Focuses on how to develop of town centers and urban villages that include a mix of uses in a pedestrian friendly setting.

Commercial and Mixed Use Development Code Handbook
From Oregon's Transportation and Growth Management program, this downloadable handbook (PDF) encourages smart commercial and mixed-use development through public policies and land use ordinances. It includes best practices and a model ordinance.

Mixed-Use Development Prototype
The City of Tucson, Arizona's, Gateways to Downtown, Stone Avenue project includes a Mixed-Use Development Prototype available as a PDF file, that incorporates housing, retail and office uses.

Mixed-Use Strategic Plan
The City of La Mesa, California, is implementing a Mixed Use Strategic Implementation Plan to assist in the development of flexible and performance-based development regulations for mixed-use development.

From NIMBY to Good Neighbor: Recent Studies Reinforce that Apartments are Good for a Community
A white paper from the National Multi Housing Council/National Apartment Association collects and distills academic reports that disarm several perennial NIMBY complaints. The publication may be downloaded.

Smart Bylaws Guide--Mixing Uses
This reference from the West Coast Environmental Law website describes mixed-use communities and offers examples and further references.

Last updated: December 2, 2004

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