Influence of New Urbanism in the Puget Sound
October 17, 2003

Fieldtrip Objectives
1. Influence of New Urbanism in the Puget Sound: Theory and Reality
2. Discover "walkable" suburban communities
3. Comparison between New Urbanism and densification of existing communities
4. Learning know-how from planners

Preparation for the Field Trip
1. Reading about New Urbanism
2. Try to find some related information from the Web. Here are a few starting links:

a. Redmond

City of Redmond
http://www.ci.redmond.wa.us/aboutredmond/general.asp

"Vision Statement"
http://www.ci.redmond.wa.us/insidecityhall/mayorsoffice/vision.asp

"Strategic Direction"
http://www.ci.redmond.wa.us/insidecityhall/mayorsoffice/direction.asp

"Comprehensive Planning"
http://www.ci.redmond.wa.us/insidecityhall/planning/compplanning/igpu_plangoals.asp

b. Issaquah Highlands

Issaquah Highlands
http://www.issaquahhighlands.com

City of Issaquah "About Us"
http://www.ci.issaquah.wa.us/aboutus.htm

Field Trip Itinerary

8:40 am Pick up the UW Van from the Budget Rent A Car (driver: Nathaniel/Michael)
9:20 am Meet at Gould Hall Café
9:30 am Leave Gould Hall Loading Zone
*Designated UW Van drivers
Van A: Michael Stanger (Heather Nickel)
Van B: Prof. Branden Born (Jennifer Low)

10:00 am Arrive at Redmond City Hall
Roberta Lewandowski, Planning Director (206-225-2304)
Major Plan Review

Noon Pizza Lunch at Redmond

1:00 pm Arrive at Issaquah Highlands Community Center
Ruth Winbauer (206-225-2304; RWinbauer@portblakely.com)
Carol Beck, Project Manager, Issaquah Highlands
-Environmental impacts of Issaquah Highlands project
-water quality, erosion control
Dan Ervin, Engineer
-green building technology
IT Consultant
-importance of information technology

3:00 pm Depart Issaquah Highlands
3:30 pm Arrive at Gould Hall Loading Zone

Driving Directions

a. Redmond

Take 520 (Evergreen Point Floating Bridge) going east.
Take W. Lake Sammamish Parkway NE exit.
At light, turn left on W. Lake Sammamish Parkway.
Continue through the next light (W. Lake Sammamish becomes 154th Ave NE).
At 2nd light, turn right onto NE 85th Street. Redmond City Hall is just over the bridge on the left. It is a 3-story gray building.

b. Issaquah Highlands

Follow East Lake Sammamish Parkway south for approx. 7 miles. Turn left on Black Nugget Road (this road is just about 1 block south of Albertsons). Follow Black Nugget road to Highlands Drive. (Highlands Drive is the new road going into Issaquah Highlands). Turn right on Highlands Drive and follow to Federal Drive and turn left. Go just a short ways and turn right on NE Park Drive. The community center is the
first building you will come to on the right side of the road.

General Essay Guidelines (Due date: Nov 4, 2003)

1.You may focus on one (undergraduate students, 3 pages) or both (graduate students, 4-5 pages) communities.

2. Redmond (RM)
a. How does Redmond achieve a compact living environment with walkable, pedestrian friendly streets?
b. In your view, has RM's city planning played a critical role in its success? Or was it purely the result of market forces?
c. What are the most important issues that planners face in achieving growth management goals?

3. Issaquah Highlands (IH)
a. Does the IH project fit the general principles and objectives of NU? If yes, how? If no, why not?
b. What are the most important issues that planners/engineers should be concerned in reviewing the IH plan?
c. How is IH different from a conventional suburban community?

4. Try to make suggestions about how the planning of these communities might be improved.