Planned Unit Development
Encyclopedia
A planned unit development (PUD), is both a type of building development as well as a regulatory process. A PUD is a designed grouping of varied and compatible land use
s, such as housing
, recreation
, commercial
centers, and industrial park
s, all within one contained development or subdivision
.
elements and how they were publicly dictated before building ever began in order to uphold an economic base. However, in America, privately controlled communities often had to attract industry after the residential sectors had been built and occupied.
The newest forms of the planned unit development in America were found shortly after World War II in the Levittown
s and Park Forest as whole communities within the limits and orbits of large metropolitan centers. The first zoning evidence of PUD was created by Prince Georges County, Maryland in 1949. It “permit[ed] the development of a large tract of land as a complete neighborhood unit, having a range of dwelling types, the necessary local shopping facilities and off-street parking areas, parks, playgrounds, school sites, and other community facilities,” (Burchell 43). Alexandria, Virginia, in 1952, as an amendment to its city code, provided for a “Community Unit Plan” with the intent to provide for planned community facilities and open space
development with new residential building. One of the first modern uses of the actual term planned unit development appeared in San Francisco’s ordinance in 1962.
Frequently, PUDs take on a variety of forms ranging from small clusters of houses combined with open spaces to new and developing towns with thousands of residents and various land uses. However, the definition of a PUD does not take into consideration these types of developments unless they fit into a category of size ranging from 100 to 200 acre (40.5 to 80.9 ). In a PUD the property owner owns the land the dwelling sits on.
Residential properties in PUDs are by far the most numerous and occupy the largest land areas. PUDs tend to incorporate single-family residential uses within close proximity to two-family units and multiple-family dwellings to form a larger diversified neighborhood concept. Schools, churches, retirement homes, hospitals, and recreation facilities begin to find their way into residential districts. Residential districts also tend to use the best land in the community and the most favorable sites are protected from commercial and industrial uses.
Grouping shopping districts by service area is a first step in returning to the neighborhood concept. Land is reserved for regional, community, and local shopping clusters with some specific restrictions based on market experience and on what types of business intend to locate at each development. Local shopping districts with sufficient provisions for off-street parking, height restrictions, and traffic control are not frequently found surrounded by residential areas.
Industrial standards now help to reduce the journey for employees to work. Nowadays, there tends to be environmental and performance regulations that cut back on the amount of nuisance to surrounding areas adjacent to industrial districts. With sufficient setbacks, off-street parking, and height regulations, industrial locations adjacent to residential zones are usually looked to as an overall community goal. PUDs do not normally have large numbers of industrial districts, but if so, they tend to be geared more towards light industry.
A planned residential unit development (PRUD) (sometimes planned unit residential development (PURD)) is a variant form of PUD where common areas are owned by the individual homeowners and not a home owners association or other entity. A PRUD is considered the same as a PUD for planning commission purposes and allows for flexibility in zoning and civic planning.
for lot sizes and maximum flow of traffic on all streets. However, in order to dispel the monotony of the typical grid plan
street pattern, PUDs often employ a hierarchy of street types
based on usage. Local streets serve only residences and have a low traffic volume, while collector streets connect local streets to arterials, which are the major routes of travel throughout a PUD.
of the developments. Circulation systems are provided to link residential groupings, open space areas, schools, and local shopping areas.
Land use
Land use is the human use of land. Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. It has also been defined as "the arrangements, activities and inputs people undertake in a certain land cover...
s, such as housing
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
, recreation
Recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...
, commercial
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
centers, and industrial park
Industrial park
An industrial park is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development...
s, all within one contained development or subdivision
Subdivision (land)
Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or otherwise develop, usually via a plat. The former single piece as a whole is then known in the United States as a subdivision...
.
History
The origins of PUDs in the new American communities can be traced to British movements during the 1950’s. The developments in Britain’s new communities dealt with the locations of industrialIndustry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
elements and how they were publicly dictated before building ever began in order to uphold an economic base. However, in America, privately controlled communities often had to attract industry after the residential sectors had been built and occupied.
The newest forms of the planned unit development in America were found shortly after World War II in the Levittown
Levittown
Levittown is the name of four large suburban developments created in the United States of America by William Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons...
s and Park Forest as whole communities within the limits and orbits of large metropolitan centers. The first zoning evidence of PUD was created by Prince Georges County, Maryland in 1949. It “permit[ed] the development of a large tract of land as a complete neighborhood unit, having a range of dwelling types, the necessary local shopping facilities and off-street parking areas, parks, playgrounds, school sites, and other community facilities,” (Burchell 43). Alexandria, Virginia, in 1952, as an amendment to its city code, provided for a “Community Unit Plan” with the intent to provide for planned community facilities and open space
Urban open space
In land use planning, urban open space is open space areas for “parks”, “green spaces”, and other open areas. The landscape of urban open spaces can range from playing fields to highly maintained environments to relatively natural landscapes. They are commonly open to public access, however, urban...
development with new residential building. One of the first modern uses of the actual term planned unit development appeared in San Francisco’s ordinance in 1962.
Current definitions
Planned unit development is a means of land regulation which promotes large scale, unified land development by means of mid-range, realistic programs in chase of physically curable, social and economic deficiencies in land and cityscapes. Where appropriate, this development control promotes:- A mixture of both land uses and dwelling types with at least one of the land uses being regional in nature
- The clusteringClusteringClustering can refer to the following:In demographics:* Clustering , the gathering of various populations based on factors such as ethnicity, economics or religion.In graph theory:...
of residential land uses providing public and common open space - Increased administrative discretion to a local professional planning staff while setting aside present land use regulations and rigid plat approval processes
- The enhancement of the bargaining process between the developer and government municipalities which in turn strengthens the municipality’s site plan review and control over development for potentially increased profits due to land efficiency, multiple land uses, and increased residential densities.
Frequently, PUDs take on a variety of forms ranging from small clusters of houses combined with open spaces to new and developing towns with thousands of residents and various land uses. However, the definition of a PUD does not take into consideration these types of developments unless they fit into a category of size ranging from 100 to 200 acre (40.5 to 80.9 ). In a PUD the property owner owns the land the dwelling sits on.
Mixtures of land uses
In PUDs, the zoning of districts becomes very different from what was standard under the Standard Zoning Enabling Act. Historically, the districts were very narrow in type and large in area. Within PUDs, zoning becomes much more integrated with multiple land uses and districts being placed on adjacent land parcels.Residential properties in PUDs are by far the most numerous and occupy the largest land areas. PUDs tend to incorporate single-family residential uses within close proximity to two-family units and multiple-family dwellings to form a larger diversified neighborhood concept. Schools, churches, retirement homes, hospitals, and recreation facilities begin to find their way into residential districts. Residential districts also tend to use the best land in the community and the most favorable sites are protected from commercial and industrial uses.
Grouping shopping districts by service area is a first step in returning to the neighborhood concept. Land is reserved for regional, community, and local shopping clusters with some specific restrictions based on market experience and on what types of business intend to locate at each development. Local shopping districts with sufficient provisions for off-street parking, height restrictions, and traffic control are not frequently found surrounded by residential areas.
Industrial standards now help to reduce the journey for employees to work. Nowadays, there tends to be environmental and performance regulations that cut back on the amount of nuisance to surrounding areas adjacent to industrial districts. With sufficient setbacks, off-street parking, and height regulations, industrial locations adjacent to residential zones are usually looked to as an overall community goal. PUDs do not normally have large numbers of industrial districts, but if so, they tend to be geared more towards light industry.
A planned residential unit development (PRUD) (sometimes planned unit residential development (PURD)) is a variant form of PUD where common areas are owned by the individual homeowners and not a home owners association or other entity. A PRUD is considered the same as a PUD for planning commission purposes and allows for flexibility in zoning and civic planning.
Houses and placement of houses
Houses in PUDs often include access to a large shared open space surrounding the house as well as a smaller private yard. These large protected open spaces are created by the layout of the buildings and are intended for use by all residents of the developments. Different housing types (single-family, two-family, multiple-family) are often mixed rather than separated as is done in conventional developmentStreets
Street patterns are one of the most important elements in establishing the neighborhood character of a residential community. Most non-PUD development focuses on obtaining maximum frontageFrontage
Frontage is the full length of a plot of land or a building measured alongside the road on to which the plot or building fronts. This is considered especially important for certain types of commercial and retail real estate, in applying zoning bylaws and property tax...
for lot sizes and maximum flow of traffic on all streets. However, in order to dispel the monotony of the typical grid plan
Grid plan
The grid plan, grid street plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid...
street pattern, PUDs often employ a hierarchy of street types
Street hierarchy
The street hierarchy is an urban design technique for laying out road networks that exclude automobile through-traffic from developed areas. It is conceived as a hierarchy of roads that embeds the link importance of each road type in the network topology...
based on usage. Local streets serve only residences and have a low traffic volume, while collector streets connect local streets to arterials, which are the major routes of travel throughout a PUD.
Sidewalks and pedestrian ways
Sidewalks and pedestrian ways of PUDs supplement and complement street systems in establishing the character of the neighborhood. Sidewalks are located on at least one side of every street to enable the walkabilityWalkability
Walkability is a measure of how friendly an area is to walking. Walkability has many health, environmental, and economic benefits. Factors influencing walkability include the presence or absence and quality of footpaths, sidewalks or other pedestrian right-of-ways, traffic and road conditions,...
of the developments. Circulation systems are provided to link residential groupings, open space areas, schools, and local shopping areas.