SEVEN FOUNDATIONS OF THE DOWNTOWN MASTER PLAN

1. Variety and Choice: Promote Richmond's competitive advantage by further diversifying land uses, building types and sizes, and providing a full range of transportation options. Urban environments are complex and adaptable. Cities are naturally mixed-use, mixed-income, and multi-modal.

2. Traditional City: Pedestrians and transit riders thrive in traditional cities. Downtown Richmond has the street network and much of the historic architecture in place to support a rebirth of traditional modes of transportation. Encourage these alternative modes of transportation by restoring the two-way traffic pattern, re-introducing a trolley system, and reconsidering parking requirements for urban buildings.

3. Green: Great parks and sustainable design make cities livable. Attract new residents and visitors to Downtown with an integrated system of urban parks. Celebrate Richmond's existing park system, and increase public access to parks. Initiate an ambitious street tree campaign. Incorporate sustainable design into all new buildings and infrastructure projects in order to create a fully "green" city. For example, streets should be designed to lower storm-water impact by incorporating street trees and planting strips, where appropriate.

4. River: The James River is Richmond's "great, wet Central Park." Allow residents and visitors to fully enjoy this unique natural feature by creating a series of clear connections to the riverfront. Develop a comprehensive system of natural open space along the river and create green connections between city parks and the riverfront. Expand existing recreational activity along the river, such as waterfront festivals, kayaking and rowing. Preserve views to the river by limiting building heights and protecting important view sheds.

5. Urban Architecture: We can learn many lessons from Richmond's historic urban architecture. Require all new construction within the Downtown to respect and reinforce its urban location, relating to the scale and character of the adjacent buildings and fronting the street with windows and primary entrances. Promote ground-floor, street facing retail, residential, and office uses, and ensure that parking garages are lined with street-front buildings.

6. History: Richmond's past is one of its most valuable assets for the future. Celebrate and promote Richmond's history with an aggressive historic preservation program and a coordinated system of history trails, museums, and interpretive sites. Focus not only on "historic" events but also reveal the day-to-day story of the city, for example by exposing the cobblestones beneath Downtown's asphalt streets.

7. Mixed-Income: Healthy cities cater to economic diversity. In order for Richmond to achieve vibrancy Downtown, it must encourage economic diversity. Attainable housing for current Downtown residents and newcomers is important to ensuring economic diversity as more investment occurs and new housing is provided. Mixed commerce should be encouraged, so that residents at all income levels can fulfill their daily needs within reasonable proximity of their home.