#ForewordFriday: Multifamily Livability Edition

More than half of Americans live in suburban settings characterized by low-density, automobile-dependent development with separated land uses. These disconnected and isolated developments have been linked to increased greenhouse-gas emissions and reduced quality of life, health, and social connections. In Site Design for Multifamily Housing: Creating Livable, Connected Neighborhoods, the authors explain how suburban multifamily housing, one of the worst offenders, can be reimagined to create more livable and vital communities. This handbook introduces ten key elements of multifamily site design, five of which are presented in this excerpt, and compares typical and recommended conditions. Later sections of the book examine case studies of successful large lot multifamily developments and retrofit proposals for existing developments.