This blog post is part of the Everyday Destinations series, which focuses on increasing physical activity in small and rural communities through everyday destinations.
Mixed-use development is an alternative to single-use zoning. It places multiple uses within a site, such as street-level retail with residential units above (vertical mixed use), or co-locates uses within a designated area, such as neighborhoods that offer residential, commercial, and civic spaces within walking distance (horizontal mixed use).
This development approach varies from Euclidian zoning, where land uses are separated into distinct zones. The mix of different uses makes it possible for people to live near everyday destinations, and thus, makes it more viable for them to engage in physical activity.
Mixed-use development provides a variety of environmental, economic, social, and health benefits that can align with existing community priorities, including increasing physical activity. Zoning regulations can be used to mitigate land-use compatibility concerns within mixed-use development while accommodating multiple desirable destinations.
Further, this type of development can reflect desired community characteristics by adopting community-driven design standards. Design standards may be adopted for infill development within mixed-use districts while protecting structures that predate new regulations.
To implement mixed-use development, it is important to engage community members from the beginning of a project. This process is key to identifying areas for mixed-use developments, distributing benefits equitably, and finding local priorities for spaces that permit multiple uses (Nelson 2012).
Mixed-use projects can support nonvehicular access to destinations, increase economic opportunity, improve the variety of housing options, and create residential spaces that are supported by a network of services.
In cases where mixed-use development includes public investments, mixed-use developments can help ensure equitable distribution of benefits from public investments by providing housing for community members with lower incomes and incorporating measures to avoid displacing current residents and businesses. In cases of private developments, communities can adopt requirements that encourage equitable access to destinations at different price points.
Rental prices may increase in some areas with higher amounts of mixed land use, perhaps due to preferences among renters for shorter commutes and shopping trips, as well as access to retail (Kim and Jin 2019). If these preferences are present in a community, renters (both residential and commercial) may encounter a higher cost of living and potentially be displaced.
A variety of mitigation efforts, such as affordable housing requirements and increasing access to business loans, can increase housing accessibility, small business viability, and inclusion for residents from different income levels (U.S. EPA 2013). This is particularly useful for communities interested in encouraging residents to age in place, as mixed-use development can appeal to community members of all ages (U.S. EPA 2012).
Mixed-Use Developments: Street-level retail spaces with residential units above support a network of connected everyday destinations. Source: Grant/flickr.com (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). North Main Street - Princeton, Illinois.
In small and rural communities, striking a balance between the preservation of local assets and diversifying land uses can create compact, walkable spaces that benefit all community members. Mixed-use developments can have positive impacts on economic, social, health, and environmental conditions.
Mixed-use districts are desirable for both community members and businesses because they provide convenient access to destinations. Community members may choose to walk, bike, or roll to destinations within compact mixed-use districts, which can positively impact community health. These districts can enhance walking conditions by providing clean sidewalks and pedestrian amenities, such as street trees and benches.
Mixed-use districts may also positively impact community health by increasing social cohesion through greater interaction among community members (Design for Health 2008), a valuable impact in small and rural communities where residents may live in remote locations.
Economic impacts include increased economic activity and demand for residential and commercial locations in town centers, reduced infrastructure needs (e.g., using existing utility delivery systems instead of expanding network), and limited service expenses (in comparison to costs for single-use developments), such as access to emergency services.
Environmental benefits range from the preservation of open space to reductions in air pollution because of fewer vehicle miles traveled, which can align with small-town and rural priorities for the preservation of natural areas and better air quality.
Missoula, Montana, incorporated a variety of mixed-use strategies to encourage affordability as part of the Sx w tpayen Area Neighborhoods Master Plan, formerly called the Mullan Area Master Plan. The plan adopts an "Equity in Land Use" tool, which requires projects to include "a mix of building and unit types." It describes mixed-use centers that contain workplaces, shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues, as well as plans to develop a new neighborhood school.
The plan emphasizes connected community areas that are safe for pedestrians and bikers, which can increase levels of physical activity. Further, the plan identifies public engagement recommendations that consider transit options and design features, such as outdoor seating and wide sidewalks, that encourage active living.
In conjunction with a mixed-use community vision, the plan seeks to advance mixed-income neighborhoods through an affordable housing land trust, increasing the amount of mixed-use housing stock, and identifying opportunities to create "missing middle" housing or developments with multiple residential units that are compatible with single-family housing.
The plan recognizes the value of providing options for residents who would like to scale up or down within the same neighborhood, which increases opportunities for residents at different life stages and income levels. It complements a housing policy adopted by the city in 2019, A Place to Call Home: Meeting Missoula's Housing Needs, which reduces barriers to affordable housing developments and provides financial incentives to increase mixed-income housing options.
The plan works in conjunction with the Missoula County & City of Missoula Mullan Area Traditional Neighborhood Development Form-Based Code, which establishes design requirements across built environment zones of different physical and social characteristics, including a Mixed-Use Center Transect Zone.
Practitioners have a variety of options to help their communities encourage mixed-use developments. This section provides a non-exhaustive list of strategies that professionals with the ability to influence the built environment can use to improve access to everyday destinations. Collaboration between these professionals and public health is crucial as public health professionals can support planning approaches and engage partners but may not have the authority to implement some of the strategies identified below.
This blog encourages communication and engagement between public health and planners to discuss approaches that might be applicable in their community. For more information on the role of public health professionals in helping implement these strategies. For more information on other partners that play a role in implementing the growth area identification approach.
The following list of strategies can help professionals from different sectors come together and implement planning approaches that support a mix of accessible everyday destinations. Community engagement is crucial throughout every step of implementing the strategies below.
Planners and public health professionals can collaborate to create equitable engagement to collect and act on community needs. Communities should select the strategies based on their context and constraints. The links at the end of actions provide more guidance materials and examples from small and rural towns across the country.
Communities have active organizations, leaders, and professionals that can contribute to implementing the strategies provided in the previous section. Built environment and public health professionals should consider, and if applicable, reach out to the following groups to implement mixed-use developments. These groups can also recommend other organizations that may be able to collaborate.
The following non-exhaustive list of partners offers potential starting points — there may be more partners to consider, depending on the community.
We are interested in case examples that support physical activity through everyday destinations in communities with a population of less than 20,000 people. If you are aware of such communities, please share their stories with us at activepeople@cdc.gov. By directing us to such articles you can help other small and rural communities become more active and healthier.
Greensboro (North Carolina), City of, and Guilford County. 2009. Downtown Area Consolidated Plan.
Hillsborough County (Florida) City-County Planning Commission. 2014. "Promoting Mixed-Use Development." Case Study Memo, Policy Update for Mixed-Use Development.
Lund, Hollie. 2002. "Pedestrian Environments and Sense of Community." Journal of Planning Education and Research 21(3): 301–12.
Missoula (Montana), City of, Office of Housing & Community Development. 2019. A Place to Call Home: Meeting Missoula's Housing Needs.
Missoula County and Missoula (Montana), City of. 2020a. Mullan Area Neighborhoods Master Plan.
Walters, Jerry, Brian Bochner, and Reid Ewing. 2013. "Getting Trip Generation Right: Eliminating the Bias Against Mixed Use Development." PAS Memo, May/June. American Planning Association.
Municipal Research and Services Center. n.d. "Mixed Use."
American Planning Association. n.d. "Benefits of Compact, Mixed Use Development." APA Research KnowledgeBase.
University of Delaware. n.d. "Mixed-Use Development." Complete Communities Toolbox.
Morris, Marya. 2009. "Model Mixed Use Zoning District Ordinance." In Smart Codes: Model Land-Development Regulations. Planning Advisory Service Report No. 556.
Active People, Healthy Nation SM is a national initiative led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help 27 million Americans become more physically active by 2027. Increased physical activity can improve health, and quality of life, and reduce healthcare costs.
Top Image: Randy von Liski/flickr.com (CC by NC-ND 2.0). N. Main Street, Bloomington, Illinois.
