Chestnut Hill Study

Nashville Civic Design Center

CHESTNUT HILL N EIGHBORHOOD FORMERLY

“C AMERON T RIMBLE ”

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 2005

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

TABLE

The work represented in this document was done at the request of the Trimble Action Group (TAG). The work was produced by the Nashville Civic Design Center staff. The report was written and edited by Gary Gaston, with significant contributions by John Houghton, Randall Hutcheson, Blythe Semmer and Catherine Tracey.

Area of Study

3

Proposal Request

4

Executive Summary

5

Implementation Chart

6

Overview Neighborhood Boundaries History Old City Cemetery Comparison of Figure Ground Maps Comparison of Aerial Photographs

8 9 13 15 16

Community Input Neighborhood Assessment Neighborhood Vision Workshop

17 18

Recommendations Neighborhood Diagram Neighborhood Development Neighborhood Vision Plan Traffic Calming: Crosswalks Traffic Calming: Streetscaping Chestnut Street Urban Infill Residential Infill Neighborhood Identity Perspective

19 20 21 22 24 25 26 27 28 29

Index CPTED Principles BUILD Principles

31 32

Questions and comments may be directed to:

CHESTNUT HILL NEIGHBORHOOD (CAMERON-TRIMBLE) STUDY Nashville Civic Design Center 138 2nd Avenue North, Suite 106 Nashville, Tennessee 37201 (615) 248 - 4280 voice (615) 248 - 4282 fax info@civicdesigncenter.org www.civicdesigncenter.org

The Nashville Civic Design Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with funding from the Frist Foundation, the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, the University of Tennessee, and Vanderbilt University.

Founded in 2000, the Nashville Civic Design Center is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to elevate the quality of Nashville’s built environment and to promote public participation in the creation of a more beautiful and functional city for all.

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 2

OF

CONTENTS

AREA

OF

STUDY

Context of the Chestnut Hill Neighborhood within the city

DOWNTOWN

SoBro

Rolling Mill / Rutledge Hill

Midtown I-40

The Gulch

Vanderbilt University

Music Row

Ft. Negley

Sudekum & Napier Homes

Chestnut Hill (Cameron Trimble)

Edgehill Neighborhood

Trevecca Nazerene University South Nashville Action People

Belmont University

I-65

Fair Grounds

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 3

PROPOSAL REQUEST

TAG’s proposal description: “The Trimble area has a rich history, particularly for African-Americans in Nashville. Meharry Medical College began here; several historic churches and schools have a long-term presence; many older houses are historically important. TAG wishes to build upon this history and to deal with some of the chronic problems that face us today. TAG has a major emphasis on developing affordable homes for single-family homeownership. The area has much rental propert with even more located nearby and more homeownership would give stability and balance. There are many elderly residents who need assistance in home repair and whose homes could be eventual targets for speculators. We have many vacant lots, which could be used for housing development, although there are zoning and floodplain issues with some. The floodplain has been explored as a possible greenway. We have also worked on neighborhood condition - code issues, trash, street, and sidewalk problems. Crime and drug dealing continue to concern us, as does decreased police presence. We have a need for recreation and community activities, especially for youth and elderly. Commercial encroachment and zoning conflicts threaten the stability of the existing housing in the area. Our neighbors have often talked about the need of good retail service, especially a better grocery store, a drug store, a dry cleaner, etc. Our area also faces some traffic problems with difficulties at key intersections and some cars traveling the wrong way on one-way streets. Finally, deteriorating businesses on Lafayette Street do not provide many needed services and may actually attract crime.”

Objectives • Improve the appearance and enhance the residential nature of the community.

• Deal with commercial encroachment and zoning conflicts • Develop single-family homes that are affordable but appropriate to the neighborhood.

• Suggest options for retail and community services for the neighborhood.

• Improve traffic engineering, but without drawing more traffic into and through the already heavily traveled streets.

• Assist residents in developing a unified vision of development for the neighborhood, emphasizing the area’s unique history.

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

At the request of the Trimble Action Group (TAG) the Nashville Civic Design Center conducted a study of the Chestnut Hill (formerly Cameron Trimble) Neighborhood, the wedge shaped study area lies to the south of Interstate I-40 and Lafayette Ave, north of the railroad tracks, and to the west of Trevecca Nazerene University.

Beginning in the Fall of 2001, the Civic Desgin Center conducted a series of meetings in the neighborhood and at the offices of the Nashville Civic Design Center attended by residents, business owners and members of the Trimble Action Group.

Meeting #1: Establishing Community Needs and Desires Meeting #2: Establishing City Needs and Desires

• Require future public housing revitalization programs to maintain a high level of design/ construction accountability that contributes to the urban qualities and character of the neighborhood.

• Develop a dialogue with area non-profit residential developers to begin projects within the neighborhood.

• Work with Metro Council members to prevent zoning changes that allow heavy commercial encroachment into the historic neighborhood.

• Implement Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Principles listed in index, page 31).

Meeting #3: Community Visioning Workshop Based on the information gathered at these meetings, the Nashville Civic Design Center makes the following recommendations.

• Focus initial redevelopment of the neighborhood on improving Chestnut Street, between 1st Avenue and 4th Avenue.

• Work with the Metro Planning Department to create a Detailed Neighborhood Design Plan (DNDP) for Chestnut Hill that reflects the recommendations of this report.

• Develop a streetscape masterplan for Chestnut Street.

This booklet contains detailed information explaining and illustrating these recommendations. The following pages outline each issue that was raised during the community meetings.

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 5

IMPLEMENTATION CHART

Commercial

0-5 Years 5-15 Years 15+ Years Re-develop Johnson School site as a mix Develop further commercial activity along MurEstablish neighborhood commercial freesboro Pike from Wharf to Lewis center along Chestnut Street between 1st of uses, including housing, retail, and and 4th Avenues commercial shop spaces that cater to the community’s needs (see page 26 for an Expand local commercial facilities, includ- example of this building type) ing a credit union and additional training oriented businesses, along Murfreesboro Expand neighborhood commercial along Chestnut towards Ft. Negley and Edgehill Pike from Wharf to Lewis Limit heavy commercial encroachment, through zoning changes, into the existing historical fabric of the neighborhood

Community Buildings

Retake neighborhood/community centers Expand Dudley Community Center Develop further educational campuses for residents, with shared spaces for other to the corner of Chestnut and 4th, along Murfreesboro Pike, fostering the services providing new community center space or relationship between each to create a “learning neighborhood commercial space neighborhood” Open the Cameron School grounds to the neighborhood use during after-school Develop stronger relationships/partnerhours ships to the Adventure Science Center and Trevecca Nazarene University

Park & Greenways

Build a demonstration greenway along Brown’s Creek

Build greenway trail along rail line, through Cemetary to downtown connecting Brown’s Creek

Connect Brown’s Creek Greenway to the Fairgrounds with plans to extend to Radnor Lake.

Also, develop link to the Cumberland River

Develop a community garden / passive recreational park within the Redesign Dudley Park in conjunction with Link neighborhoods to historic cemeteries along neighborhood (possible sites include an expanded community center Murfreesboro Pike south of Brown’s Creek Dudley Park or Johnson School site - see Edgehill Community Park for an existing example in Nashville) Develop the southern edge of Dudley Park with housing (see page 27)

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 6

IMPLEMENTATION CHART

Residential

0-5 Years Develop relationships with area non-profits that specialize in building affordable housing in urban neighborhoods, concentrating these efforts along Creek Street and Lewis Streets

5-15 Years Convert Sudekum and Napier Homes to mixed-income residential neighborhood

15+ Years Obtain Conservation Zoning Overlay for historic areas of the neighborhood

Develop new single-family housing along Sponsor a housing design competition that Shepherd Hill focuses on designing high-quality housing for purchase in the neighborhood Develop infill housing throughout Develop the southern edge of Dudley Park Cameron Trimble and SNAP (South Nashville Action People) with housing (see page 28 for types) Convert Greer Stadium property to a mixed-use use neighborhood, featuring residential, a Civil War Museum, outdoor amphitheater, etc.

Streets

Introduce signs and historical markers into Redesign street system in Sudekum and Develop major east-west corridors through South Nashville as boulevards including the Napier Homes as part of residential the neighborhood, promoting a strong redevelopment. Reference the historical Wharf-Chestnut-Edgehill corridor and the 31stsense of identity street design of these areas and, where Blakemore-Wedgewood-Fairgrounds corridor Install cross walks along Chestnut Street possible, return to the original street grid Extend Trimble Street across Brown’s Creek to between 1st and 4th Avenues Murfreesboro Pike Revert 2nd and 4th Avenues to 2-way Redesign Chestnut Street as a tree-lined, design, calming the traffic and creating a pedestrian friendly, mixed-use street. more accessable neighborhood Reduce width to two travel lanes, with on-street parking in each direction Reinforce the idea of Chestnut Street as a pedestrian friendly “cultural connector” that links Chestnut Hill, the City Cemetery, Develop a walking tour of the Ft. Negley, Edgehill, and Vanderbilt neighborhood highlighting historic structures and events Change the name of Wharf St. to Chestnut Street, on the south side of Murfreesboro Pike

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 7

OVERVIEW NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES

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Aerial of Cameron Trimble Neighborhood

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Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 8

OVERVIEW HISTORY Historic Photograph of Central Tennessee College The following is excerpted from “Cameron Trimble, Cultural Cradle of the South,” 1979 and from the registration form for the National Register of Historic Places, January 25, 1974

The Chestnut Hill Neighborhood (formerly Cameron Trimble and earlier known as Trimble Bottom) is notable for its rich heritage. The name Trimble comes from the owner of the plantation once situated here.

After the Union occupation of Nashville in early 1862, “contraband camps,” groups of escaped slaves, gravitated to the community for Federal protection, reunion with family members, and the economic and moral support the existing free black neighborhood provided. That nucleus expanded into today’s still predominantly African American community in south Nashville where Cameron Trimble is located.

In 1867 Central Tennessee College was opened on Maple Street, now First Avenue South (Cameron School sits on this historic site). The first instruction at the new college was conducted in a gun factory confiscated from the Confederate forces by the federal government. Originially appropriated by the Union military as a hospital, this rambling rectangular, three story building represented the structural beginnings of an educational institutional that would soon have an impact not only upon Nashville but upon the broader reaches of the nation and world as well.

Clearly the outstanding attraction within the Central Tennessee College curriculum was its Meharry Medical Department, established in 1875. (From 1900 through 1922 the college operated at the same location under the name of Walden University). Prior to the creation of this department, there was no facility for training black doctors within the South. And with a

population of over 4,000,000 freedmen inhabiting the region, the need for such training was critical. Within a decade after its founding, the Meharry program was far outdistancing all other Central Tennessee College departments in its appeal. By 1915 it was apparent that Meharry had so outgrown it’s parent university that administrative controls would have

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 9

to be severed. In 1917 Meharry Medical College was granted a separate charter by the State of Tennessee and subsequently expanded.

Meharry’s presence within Cameron Trimble significantly affected the residential character of the neighborhood. Numerous doctors, nurses, and

OVERVIEW HISTORY Photograph of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church today

Historic Photograph of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church

students associated with the college lived within the community, near their work and study. Meharry remained a dominant force in the community until 1931, when it relocated to North Nashville.

A “colored” public school on Fifth Avenue South started in 1867 as a result of a law providing for public schools for blacks and whites. Despite the 1867 mandate of free public education for all children, few schools for blacks were developed outside major cities.

In 1883 the City of Nashville built Pearl school for blacks on Summer Avenue (now 5th Avenue South).

Only two years later, 1,043 students crowded into a building built for 800, reflecting both a strong desire for education as well as the state’s and the School Board’s inadequate planning and disregard for the needs of its black constituency. Another reason Nashville’s “colored” schools were quickly overwhelmed with students is that schools in surrounding rural areas were either non-existent, had a limited number of grades, or were otherwise much more inadequate than Nashville schools. Not until 1886, after intense pressure from black city councilman James C. Napier

and the courage of Mrs. Sandy Porter, who attempted to have her son admitted to the white Fogg High School, did Nashville offer any high school grades to

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 10

St. Patrick’s Catholic Church is located on Second Avenue South in the Cameron Trimble Neighborhood. It is a brick two-anda-half-story Second Empire-style building constructed in the 1870s and extensively altered in 1914. It is the only significant example of a Second Empire style chruch building in Nashville.

OVERVIEW HISTORY Cameron School

blacks. Eleven years after Nashville blacks won that victory, the Trimble Bottom community gained a high school when those grades were added to Pearl School on 5th Avenue South. In 1928 this became the first Cameron School.

In the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” public facilities met constitutional intent. Tennessee, like most other southern states, took advantage of the “separate” wording to mask unequal treatment. In 1901 Tennessee reinforced segregationist education policy by passing a law requiring blacks to be educated in separate schools from whites. This legalized social and economic separation of the races pervaded all areas of southern life including schools, churches, hotels, restaurants, public restrooms, public water fountains, sports, hospitals, movie theaters, swimming pools, public transportation, and, followed even in death, to funeral homes and cemeteries.

In 1928, Cameron School was named for Henry Alvin Cameron, a Nashville native who taught science at Pearl School (then on 5th Avenue South) in the Trimble Bottom community from 1897 until he volunteered for service in World War I in 1917. He was a leader in Nashville’s black community, served as an elder at his church, was president of the Middle Tennessee Teacher’s Association, and was active in other professional and civic organizations including the Masons. Henry A. Cameron was killed in action in October 1918.

in the future. Over time, many of the professors and staff moved to North Nashville from Trimble Bottom, leaving the neighborhood population made up almost completely of working class families.

In 1931 Meharry Medical School moved to its current location in North Nashville. The relocation of such a prominent and visible institution would have important consequences for the Cameron Trimble neighborhood

The Housing Act of 1937, passed by Congress, linked slum clearance with public housing by providing local housing agencies money for building housing developments. This program would set the stage for

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 11

“slum” clearance in many inner-city neighborhoods, such as Cameron Trimble, and their replacement with large scale public housing blocks through the next several decades. In most cases the housing situation in these neighborhoods was bleak. It is estimated that approximately one-third of all families in Nashville were living in conditions that impaired health and safety. Many areas were not served by city water or sewer lines, and infant mortality, tuberculosis,

OVERVIEW HISTORY Chestnut Street (below)

homicide, and truancy rates were considerably higher than the rest of the city. In these instances, the federal programs vastly improved the infrastructure of these so called “slum” neighborhoods. But the price of these improvements proved to be detrimental to the structure of the neighborhoods. In South Nashville, J.C. Napier Homes was constructed in 1941, and later Tony Sudekum Homes in 1953, razing numerous blocks of single family homes deemed “blighted,” and replacing them with barrack style housing that concentrated poverty and crime.

federal community development funds in the area.

TAG is continuing to fight for the redevelopment of its area, especially in preserving existing housing and in encouraging single-family homes to be built on the many vacant lots in the neighborhood.

With the recent redevelopments in other urban neighborhoods in Nashville, hopes are high that

The construction of the interstate system further eroded the vitality of Cameron Trimble. I-40 was constructed during the 1960s, creating a “Berlin Wall” of isolation between Cameron Trimble and Downtown that proved to be not only a physical barrier but a psychological one as well. In addition, the two avenues that connect underneath the interstate, 2nd and 4th, are of a one-way design, creating dangerous fast-moving highways through the once pedestrianfriendly neighborhood.

In 1997 Trimble Action Group (TAG) was formed as a method of giving residents a voice to express their concerns and a method for taking action. TAG has: • Fought zoning changes that would threaten the nature of the residential neighborhood; • Completed “neighborhood audits” that focused the attention of Metro Codes and other city departments on neighborhood conditions; • Worked with the Metro Planning Department and the Nashville Civic Design Center to develop a “neighborhood plan” and an even more concrete vision for the neighborhood; • Partnered with the Metro Development and Housing Agency in planning for the use of $500,000 in Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 12

this area could be one of the next neighborhoods to experience growth. In 2005, residents voted to change the name of the neighborhood to Chestnut Hill, symbolizing their belief in its rebirth.

“Cameron Trimble, Cultural Cradle of the South,” 1979.

Developed by a joint effort of the 17th District Civic League, Metropolitian Planning Commission and the Tennessee State University Department of History and Geography

OVERVIEW OLD CITY CEMETERY Photo of the City Cemetery Grounds

The following information is excerpted from the registration form for the National Register of Historic Places.

January 25, 1974

Located south of downtown Nashville is 28 acres of land known as the Old City Cemetery. It was opened in 1822 and by 1847 contained 5,075 graves.

This cemetery served as the burial place for many important persons during some of Tennessee’s early years and thus contains many impressive monuments designed to befit the people whose final resting place they marked.

By the last of the nineteenth century with the opening of newer cemeteries, few new graves were opened.

The ageing cemetery fell into disrepair as attention was focused elsewhere. In 1911 the beautiful entrance gates were contributed by a local woman’s club and the city replaced a dilapidated wire fence with the handsome stone wall that still exists.

By the 1950’s the cemetery was a disgrace to the city. Mayor Ben West initiated a restoration program, completed in 1959, that saw streets graveled and marked as originally outlined, lights installed, tombstones carefully restored and recarved to the original, and a superintendent appointed to care for the grounds.

Today there are over 23,000 people buried on 23 acres of land in this historic plot. The grounds contain beautiful magnolias, oak, holly, and various shrubs that compliment the many cast iron fences and marble, limestone, concrete, and fieldstone markers.

Among the many notables buried there are Mr. and Mrs. Henry Rutledge, both of whose parents signed

the Declaration of Independence; Lt. General Richard S. Ewell who led Lee’s center at Gettysburg; Gen. William Carrol, 12 years Governor of Tennessee; William Edward West, artist famous for portraits of Lord Byron, Percy Byssche Shelly, and Henry Clay; Judge George Washington Campbell, minister to Russia, Congressman, Senator and Secretary of the US Treasury; Mable Lewis Imes and Ella Sheppard, two of the original Fisk Jubilee Singers; and Charles Maddis, a young Spaniard who was the interpreter for Andrew Jackson at New Orleans.

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 13

This cemetery was the original burial place for President James K. Polk in 1849. His body was moved after 11 months to his home for one week, and later, in 1893, to his final resting place on the Tennessee State Capitol grounds.

William Strickland, noted American architect and designer of the capitol building, designed at least one of the tombs in the Cemetery.

OVERVIEW COMPARISON

OF

FIGURE GROUND MAPS 1908 Figure Ground, NCDC

1908 • A majority of the neighborhood is occupied by single family residences.

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 14

2000 Figure Ground, NCDC

2000 • Much of the historic neighborhood fabric is gone due to urban renewal and interstate construction.

• Formerly single family residences have been replaced with super-block public housing.

OVERVIEW COMPARISON

OF

AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS 1961 Aerial Photograph, Metro Planning Department

1961 • Napier and Sudekum Homes public housing is built in the neighborhood.

• Traditional neighborhood fabric is largely intact.

• Pre-interstate neighborhood shows the buildings that existed prior to its construction.

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 15

OVERVIEW COMPARISON

OF

AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS 2003 Aerial Photograph, Metro Planning Department

2003 • Interstate construction isolates the neighborhood from downtown.

• Greer Stadium and Adventure Science Center constructed on Ft. Negley Hill.

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 16

COMMUNITY INPUT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSESSMENT Neighborhood Issues - 2002

Issues: 1.

Vacant lots being used as junk yards or left overgrown 2. Crime, drugs, and prostitution 3. Deteriorated housing generally, and paticurlary multi-family units specifically 4. Poor to non-existent street lighting 5. A lack of visibility of police, and poor response time 6. Poor drainage 7. Junk cars parked along streets 8. Rodent and insect problems 9. Poorly kept industrial properties 10. Lack of sidewalks Needs: 1.

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Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 17

Safe place to gather No shopping Pedestrian traffic Community center More recreation programs More jobs for local residents Public housing needs to be transitioned to permanent housing Amenities not within walking distance Cleaner neighborhoods Playground and tot lots for the little kids Solution for traffic on 2nd and 4th Better grocery store Pharmacy

14. Do something with the transient population on Lewis 15. Greenway or improvement to brownfield area 16. Alleys too narrow 17. Better transportation and connections Assets: 1.

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Dollar General training program Center for Social Services Pruitt Library Napier School Recreation Center Children’s Programs Seniors Programs Churches Good bus lines Cameron-Johnson Schools Land availability 2nd and Hart African American heritage Historic strengths People still living in the neighborhood Organized athletics in Dudley Park Proximity to fairgrounds History of the creek Gentle terrain Beautiful stone Proximity to interstate City cemetery Close to downtown

COMMUNITY INPUT NEIGHBORHOOD VISION WORKSHOP Visioning sketch

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 18

RECOMMENDATIONS NEIGHBORHOOD DIAGRAM Walking diagram

According to the Charter of the New Urbanism, walking is the instrument of measurement for an ideal neighborhood: a ten-minute walk from edge to edge, or approximately one half-mile.

This drawing shows the ten-minute walking distance superimposed over the Chestnut Hill neighborhood, with the center deďŹ ned at the intersection of Chestnut and 2nd Avenue. Virtually all portions of the neighborhood lie within walking distance of the center.

ten minute walking distance

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 19

RECOMMENDATIONS NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT Proposed Residential Development and New Civic Space

Proposed Residential & Commercial Development Proposed Civic Institutional Development Proposed Park & Greenway City Cemetery

Proposed Residential & Civic Institutional Development

Proposed Ft. Negley Residential Development

Proposed Park & Greenway

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 20

RECOMMENDATIONS NEIGHBORHOOD VISION PLAN

This drawing illustrates the vision plan for Chestnut Hill, and includes the following points: • Increasing the density of commercial corridors, such as Lafayette and Chestnut; placing buildings close to the street to define a continuous edge and reducing curb cuts. This also reduces crime and encourages the use of public transit by creating more activity along the routes.

• Infilling vacant lots throughout the neighborhood with single and multi-family housing, as well as mixed-use buildings.

In general, mixed-uses should be focused along the commercial areas.

• Limiting the heavy commercial growth along 4th Avenue South to prevent further intrusion into the historic neighborhood.

• Adding and improving streetscaping throughout the neighborhood, concentrating initially on Chestnut Street.

• Creating a greenway, several parks, and potentially housing along Brown’s Creek.

• Removing mega-block public housing developments and replacing with the historic street grid and smaller buildings that look and function more like single family homes.

• Creating a more pedestrian-friendly neighborhood by reducing the 4-lane Chestnut Street to two lanes with onstreet parking, and converting 2nd and 4th Avenues to 2-way streets.

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 21

RECOMMENDATIONS TRAFFIC CALMING -

CROSS WALKS AND ON-STREE PARKING

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Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 22

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RECOMMENDATIONS TRAFFIC CALMING -

CROSS WALKS AND ON-STREET PARKING

Proposed view along Chestnut Street (above) Existing view along Chestnut Street (below)

Location of cross walks along Chestnut

1st Ave

2nd Ave

3rd Ave

The addition of streetscaping with crosswalks and on-street parking along Chestnut Street between 1st and 4th Avenues will enhance the physical appearance of the street, while reinforcing the importance of Chestnut as a connector through the neighborhood. The street improvements will also serve to calm the trafďŹ c that currently speeds through the area on 2nd and 4th Avenues.

4th Ave

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 23

RECOMMENDATIONS TRAFFIC CALMING - STREETSCAPING Main Street, Nashville

12th Avenue South, Nashville

Traffic calming is a mixture of physical measures that can improve the physical beauty of a street while also improving safely conditions for pedestrians and cyclists.

In Nashville there have been several examples of streetscaping projects that have altered the character and feel of neighborhoods. These include; Main Street, 12th Avenue South, Jefferson Street, Nolensville Road (Woodbine), The Gulch, Shelby Avenue, and soon Dickerson Road.

Streetscaping is one component to traffic calming.

Streetscaping includes the addition of sidewalks, landscaping, trees, light fixtures, benches, trash recepticals, neighborhood identity signage, etc.

On-street parking also serves to calm traffic. In addition, the parking is useful to businesses located along the streets.

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 24

Jefferson Street, Nashville

RECOMMENDATIONS CHESTNUT STREET Section and Plan of Chestnut Street at corner of 3rd and Chestnut (looking west)

This drawing illustrates the suggested redesign of Chestnut Street through Cameron Trimble. The current four lanes are reduced to two, and on-street parking lanes are added in each direction. The sidewalks are seperated from the street by planting strips that serve as a buffer between people and cars, helping to create a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood.

6’-0” min 6’-0” min sidewalk planting

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 25

8’-0” parking

22’-0” max 2 travel lanes

8’-0” parking

6’-0” min 6’-0” min planting sidewalk

RECOMMENDATIONS URBAN INFILL 4th Avenue South and Chestnut Street options

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Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 26

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These drawings offer examples of what the intersection of 4th Avenue South and Chestnut Street could become. The suggestions propose the addition of mixed-use buildings that include both retail commercial space at the ground level and residential housing above. Building are positioned close to the sidewalks, with on-street parking that shields pedestrians from the trafďŹ c. The photo above is a good example of this type of mixed-use building type.

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Urban inďŹ ll is the use of vacant land, or restoration or rehabilitation of existing structures or infrastructure in urban areas. This approach is typically used in urban areas that were once active but have fallen into disrepair; it encourages the successful reuse of these sites.

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RECOMMENDATIONS RESIDENTIAL INFILL 4th Avenue North in Germantown (top) Mechanicsville Commons, Hope VI Project, Knoxville, TN (bottom)

Row 8.9n in Hope Gardens (top) New single family homes, Locklayer St. in Hope Gardens (bottom)

These photos offer examples of residential inďŹ ll development in historic neighborhoods. Their character ďŹ ts into the neighborhood but does not imitate historic structures. Affordable housing is typically a component of these developments, as it ensures a diverse and balanced neighborhood.

The Chestnut Hill Neighborhood should develop relationships with area non-profits that specialize in building housing in urban neighborhoods.

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 27

RECOMMENDATIONS NEIGHBORHOOD IDENTITY Historic Edgefield street marker in East Nashville

Establishing a strong neighborhood identity is an important step to revitalization. Signs, historic markers, and even bus shelters can help identify a neighborhood.

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 28

Proposed Signs / bus shelters / benches

RECOMMENDATIONS PERSPECTIVE Looking east across Murfreesboro Pike on Wharf Avenue

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 29

RECOMMENDATIONS PERSPECTIVE Looking west on Lewis Street

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 30

INDEX CPTED PRINCIPLES

The Neighborhood should consider the implementation of the following principles with law enforcement officials as well as city planners and developers.

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED \sep-ted\) is a branch of situational crime prevention which states that the physical environment can be changed or managed to produce behavioral effects that will reduce the incidence and fear of crime, thereby improving in the quality of life, and enhancing proďŹ tability for business.

CPTED is a multi-professional approach to reducing crime and the fear of crime by having planners, designers, architects, landscapers, and law enforcement professionals working together to create a safe climate within a built environment.

The proper design and effective use of the built environment can lead to a reduction in the incidence and fear of crime and thus increase the quality of life.

Key CPTED Principles 1. Natural Surveillance: CPTED focuses on the placement of physical features, activities, and people in such way as to maximize visibility. This includes the lighting of public spaces and walkways at night.

2. Natural Access Control: CPTED features the physical guidance of people coming and going from a space by the judicial placement of entrances, exits, fencing, landscaping, and lighting.

3. Territorial Reinforcement: CPTED encourages the use of physical attributes that express ownership, such as fences pavement treatment, art signage, and landscaping.

4. Maintenance: CPTED allows for the continued use of space for its intended purpose and serves as an additional expression of ownership. It prevents any reduction of visibility from landscaping overgrowth and obstructed or inoperative lighting.

While traditional law enforcement and crime prevention has focused on target hardening (locks and lights), many neighborhoods have gone a step past this old style of thinking and adopted the CPTED concepts of crime prevention.

Crime and the fear of crime can be greatly reduced by having neighborhoods, schools, and businesses implement the CPTED principles in the early planning stages of community design.

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 31

INDEX BUILD PRINCIPLES

Better Urban InFill Development (BUILD) Great Neighborhood Principles 1. Compact and walkable - Neighborhoods should be compact enough to encourage development of pedestrian connections and destinations without excluding automobiles.

2. A hierarchy of interconnected streets - Streets and roads function as a connected network, dispersing traffic and offering a variety of pedestrian and vehicular routes to any destination while connecting and integrating the neighborhood with surrounding communities.

6. A range of transportation options - Streets are designed to promote the safe and efficient use by walkers, bikers, drivers and transit riders.

7. Pedestrian-friendly - Features such as safe, attractive and comfortable streets and public spaces promote walking as a viable option to auto trips.

8. Open spaces, greens, parks, accessible and convenient to all - Significant cultural and environmental features are incorporated into the design of the development for the use, benefit, and enjoyment of the entire community. A range of parks, from tot-lots and village greens to ballfields and community gardens, are distributed within neighborhoods.

3. A identifiable neighborhood/community center and edges - A center that includes public spacessuch as a square, green or important street intersection-and public buildings-such as a library, church or community center, transit stop and retail businesses-provides a civic focus and informal place of gathering; and edges that promote neighborhood identity.

4. A variety of housing choices within the same neighborhood - The neighborhood includes a variety of dwelling types so that younger and older people, singles and families, of varying income levels may find places to live.

5. A diverse mix of activities (residences, shops, schools, workplaces and parks, etc.) occur in proximity - Many activities of daily living should occur within walking distance, allowing independence to those who do not drive and adding to neighborhood vitality.

Source: BUILD Better Urban InFill Development Dane County, Madison, WI fttp://www.countyofdane.com/plandev/build/default.asp

Nashville Civic Design Center: Chestnut Hill Neighborhood page 32