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LGC uses a visual preference survey to stimulate discussion. "We pair images to show different types of housing at different densities," says Zykofsky. "People start seeing solutions to problems like parking." More solutions are offered in a series of case studies of higher density housing." A lot of examples are from the West Coast," Zykofsky says, "but my sense is that housing is pretty much the same all over."

Talk about it

"You'd be surprised what happens when you get people to come out and talk," says Jamie Greene, AICP, a principal of the Columbus, Ohio, consuiting firm ACP-Visioning & Planning.

Generally, says Greene, citizens don't use the word density. "They talk about the quality of the environment and about feeling safe." That came out in a project ACP is doing for the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, which wanted to find out how people felt about transit-oriented development.

"We brought a group of randomly selected people and showed them images of different development patterns, including some higher density examples. Some said, 'I think those lots are too close,' but others said they liked the idea of being part of a neighborhood," Greene says.

In Upper Arlington, an affluent but landlocked old suburb of Columbus, ACP was asked to prepare a plan for a town center with public and private uses, a project that would require higher density. "We always start with a blank slate," says Greene. "We try to discover what the community's values are before making a proposal. In this case, what they wanted was a civic gathering place." After 17 public meetings, a redevelopment plan for 38 acres of office, retail, and civic development was approved by residents and adopted by the city council.



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