Long Range Plan 2050 Planning Centers

PLANNING CENTERS All Connections 2050 Long-Range Plan elements are available online at www.dvrpc.org/plan. The Plan has two primary documents: (1) The Connections 2050 Policy Manual (www.dvrpc.org/Products/21027) identifies the vision, goals, strategies, and a summary of the financial plan. (2) The Connections 2050 Process and Analysis Manual (www.dvrpc.org/Products/21028) provides a more detailed look at the Plan’s outreach, background information, analysis, and financial plan. The Connections 2050 Long-Range Plan identifies four types of Centers: Suburban Centers, Town Centers, Rural Centers, and Planned Centers. The characteristics of each type are as follows: SUBURBAN CENTERS Are regionally significant; While not necessarily single municipalities, are perceived as single “places;” Are suburban in character; Are less dense than town centers; Lack the integrated mix of uses found in town centers; Are defined primarily by a concentration and variety of office, retail, professional, and light industrial uses, and generally have more jobs than residents; and are generally auto dependent rather than transit oriented or pedestrian scale. TOWN CENTERS Have a mixture of high-density residential and commercial land use; Have an integrated mix of land uses;Have a unique history, character, and sense of place; Are of relatively higher density than their surrounding land uses; Have a distinct downtown/main street area surrounded by relatively dense residential development; Are pedestrian friendly and often transit oriented; and Are surrounded by suburban land uses. RURAL CENTERS Have a minimum density of six people and three employees per developed acre; Have an integrated mix of land uses; Have a unique history, character, and sense of place; Are of relatively higher density than the surrounding area; Have a distinct downtown/main street (though smaller than a town center); and Are surrounded by rural and agricultural land uses. PLANNED CENTERS Are planned town-center-type developments on greenfields in Growing Suburbs or Rural Areas or through redevelopment on greyfields and/or brownfields in Developed Communities; and Have plans that call for village-type development, incorporating mixed, integrated land uses, relatively high densities, and pedestrian connections.