Open Space Residential Design
Open Space Residential Design is a technique that uses a collaborative design process to help communities manage growth, protect open space, and preserve community character. With this technique, open space priorities are identified early in the design process. Open Space Residential Design starts by identifying land for open space preservation based on environmental and social priorities, then sites the maximum number of lots with great views of the protected open space, designs roads to minimize length, width, and costs, and finally draws lot lines where they logically fall once the best locations for open space, houses, and roads are all identified.
With the unique capacity of this approach to protect open space and manage growth, Open Space Residential Design has been enthusiastically endorsed by developers as well as planning boards. The 8T&B committee, working with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, North Shore Audubon, and the Green Neighborhoods Alliance, has sponsored workshops and presentations for the general public, planning boards and conservation commissions in the region.
