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The Exceptional City

What Defines a Great Space?

Think of a time when you were really engaged at the moment. Maybe sitting at a small cafe on a street or experiencing a piece of art in public. A time walking with friends and getting caught up in the music of a street performer for a few minutes.

 

When buildings and streets are designed for people, each of us become engaged with our surroundings. Those moments become a piece of who we are.

 

For the past 80 years, planners have a focused design on the efficiency of automobile travel in cities and regions. Today, people expect great experiences and seek places to live that provide the foundation for their lifestyle and interests.

 

Urban Systems understands how to combine scaled design and social engagement. Together these create spaces providing great experiences for people. While we may not remember the name of the cafe, the park, or the street that brought that sense of happiness, our emotional impressions from that moment can last a lifetime.

What is Smart Growth?

Smart growth is an approach to development that encourages a mix of building types and uses, diverse housing and transportation options, development within existing neighborhoods, and community engagement. The 10 principles below are considered the foundation of a smart growth approach.

Smart Growth in Lansing

Over the past 50 years, we have seen growth that has predominately moved away from central urban areas into low-density, separated communities dependent on automobiles.

Smart Growth- EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency)

Smart growth strategies help communities grow in ways that expand economic opportunity while protecting human health and the environment.

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