A building should look good to residents and neighbors.

How a building looks is critical to its acceptance within a community and to the "pride of place" it creates among residents. A new building's image should not vary widely from that of its neighbors or from that of good quality middle class housing nearby. The windows, façade, roof shape, size and rhythm of openings, trim and details, and materials and color should be generally compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. The building should avoid appearing like one large, undifferentiated mass by incorporating as much visual complexity as possible. It should also, to the extent feasible, try to provide as many dwelling units as possible with individual identities. Finally, special attention should be paid to the design of front doors, because they convey such strong messages about the quality of a development and its residents.

What a development looks like says a lot about the developer who created it and the residents who occupy it. Every effort should be made to create a high quality, community-sensitive appearance for any affordable housing development.