Neighborhood Pattern and Design
What the exam tests
NPD tests the physical pattern of a neighborhood: walkability, density, connectivity, mixed use, housing diversity, public space, and parking. Three prerequisites anchor it: Walkable Streets, Compact Development, and Connected and Open Community.
Core rules
Walkable Streets requires a connected sidewalk and street network with pedestrian-scaled frontage and safe crossings. Compact Development sets a minimum residential density and rewards higher density, especially near transit. Connected and Open Community requires a street network and public spaces accessible to residents. Credits add mixed-use neighborhood centers, mixed-income housing, reduced parking, street-network connectivity, transit facilities, transportation demand management, civic and recreation space, visitability, community outreach, local food production, and tree-lined streets.
Worked example
A 20-acre project has 240 dwelling units, or 12 DU/acre. That density can satisfy a compact-development threshold, but the street plan has long cul-de-sacs and only two connections to the surrounding grid. For Connected and Open Community, the team must document a connected network and public-space access; the cul-de-sac pattern may fail the prerequisite even though density is high. Density alone does not earn connectivity.
Traps that cost marks
Do not treat a mixed-use center as automatically walkable; Walkable Streets looks at frontage, sidewalks, and street design. Do not count private open space as public space for connectivity. Do not claim mixed-income points without documented unit sizes and income levels. Do not ignore parking: reduced parking is a credit, not a prerequisite.