Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

What’s Your City’s Ratio of Places to Non-Places?

11:04 AM EDT on October 15, 2014

 Andrew Price used a sunburn map to highlight the places (blue) and "non-places" (red) in downtown Phoenix. Image: Strong Towns

Here's a really interesting way to look at cities. Andrew Price at Strong Towns has developed a graphically compelling way to break down developed areas into what he calls "places" and "non-places."

He explains:

Places are for people. Places are destinations. Whether it is a place to sleep, a place to shop, a place of employment, or simply a place to relax - it has a purpose and adds a destination to the city. Building interiors are the most common form of Places found in cities. Examples of outdoor Places include;

  • Parks and gardens
  • Plazas
  • Human-oriented streets

Non-Places are the padding between destinations. Examples of Non-Places include:

  • Roads
  • Freeways
  • Parking Lots
  • Greenspace

Price has developed a method that instantly conveys the ratio of places to non-places. Below he compares part of San Francisco to a suburban area of Little Rock.

Price used a sunburn map to show the "places" in blue and the "non places" in red. Image: Strong Towns Image: Strong Towns

This area of San Francisco, Price says, has a place to non-place ratio of 4.25:1 (81% place).

Now, for suburban Little Rock.

Image: Strong Towns Image: Strong Towns

This area has a place to non-place ratio of 0.08:1 (8.5% place).

Price writes:

In the above example, 10.5 times more land is dedicated to Non-Places than Places! Is this even a financially viable way to build a city? No.

Compare those examples and ask yourself -- which one is more walkable (the topic of my National Gathering presentation)? Which one is getting their money's worth out of their infrastructure?

Elsewhere on the Network today: Peninsula Transportation explains why a Silicon Valley developer prefers to offer tenants transit passes, not parking spaces. (Spoiler: It's a whole lot cheaper.) And The Dallas Morning News' Transportation Blog reports that as protests have erupted over a proposed new toll road, the North Central Texas Council of Governments has come under fire for potentially inflating traffic projections.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

How Auto-Centric Infrastructure Is Making Us Sick

Instead of endless promises to fix America's "crumbling roads and bridges," filmmaker Andy Boneau argues we need to talk about our crumbling minds and bodies — and how our autocentric infrastructure approach contributes to them.

June 8, 2023

Talking Headways Podcast: Undoing Autocentric Design in a Michigan City

A Michigan city tries to undo the mistakes of the past. It's hard.

June 8, 2023

Wednesday’s Headlines Brace for Impact

This is the way to start your day.

June 7, 2023

‘Low No’ is a Blow to the Electric Bus Transition, Advocates Say

A federal grant program aimed at speeding the transition to zero-emissions transit is being undermined by allocations for low-polluting vehicles, an advocacy group warns.

June 7, 2023
See all posts