Physical Space
The built environment that we inhabit contributes greatly to the way that we live our lives. The design of our communities can encourage us to be more communal or more isolated, the could encourage active lifestyles with walkable streets and amenities sharing the same blocks as home or they could encourage sedentary lifestyles dominated by driving from destination to destination without an opportunity for action or interaction.
The 3-Story Unit
The basic 3-Story Unit is meant to be the versatile workhorse of all new developments. In the short-term, the building can be made to serve a variety of living situations:
Three flats stacked on top of each other - Each floor of the building would represent up to 1000 sq ft of living space, enough to fit up to three people per floor
Two or all three floors can be made into one unit - for a family growing over the years, they may only need one floor at their outset. However with time as they have more children or try to accommodate aging parents, they can accommodate the growing household by adding on additional units to the building. Furthermore, as a family gets smaller with children leaving, the units can be sold off or rented out in order for families to live within their means
One person may own the building and rent out unoccupied floors - A person may be looking for a way to secure some extra income stream. Renting out extra floors would assist with passive income. This would also be beneficial for the tenants for a number of reasons. Having the landlord live in the same building will mean that the landlord will have an extra stake in the upkeep of the building and address problems more readily than they would if they were offsite. Additionally, having a landlord that only looks after one or two tenants means that the landlord is much more likely to form a relationship with their tenants. This could lead to mutual respect and understanding where the landlord may be more forgiving if they appreciate their tenant. Rather than overseeing 100 tenants and having one leave not affect the bottom line, the tenant and landlord will be compelled to work together for the upkeep of the living situation. Lastly, by having more than a dozen of these per city block, the number of potential landlords would be far greater than cities dominated by large apartment complexes. This will give tenants better options for choosing a home and allow them to find a better custom fit rather than a standardized living situation.
However, the most impressive feature of its design is that it is meant to pave the way for future mixed-use neighborhoods.
The long-term goal is for the ground level flat to be converted into commercial space. Whether it be a store, office, or restaurant, the streets will become lined with street-facing enterprises bringing vitality and life to the street. More than sounding charming, this element is critical for forming safe communities. By having witnesses with eyes on the street at all times and at close hand, crime is deterred simply by the presence of other people. By having witnesses on the street or having the street be visible through large windows, people feel at arm’s reach for help if needed.
While most cities in the United States do not allow this kind of construction, it must be the goal to make more lively, self-sustaining, and safer communities. While there are many movements working politically to change city zoning codes to allow these buildings, we should not wait for the codes to be changed to begin building what we can. A single-family detached house can never be repurposed into a mixed-use development, but the 3-story unit is designed for versatility so that it can be built in a zone allowing residential only in anticipation of the change in zoning code. Rather than wait for an indefinite time for codes to be changed and only then building mixed-use neighborhoods, we can start building up housing inventory today with the 3-Story Unit, which will then be ready for immediate retrofit to accommodate mixed-use development once the time comes.
This is how we accelerate the development of our new ideal communities!
The Village Square
The Village Square is meant to be the center of living within a neighborhood. It is where the identity of neighborhoods originate. The Village square provides several functions for the community:
Identity: Naming a square for a common trade, landmark, or, better yet, something that embodies a greater ideal, helps give character to the feeling of the space. This identity gives purpose to the place and impresses on the individual as a part of what makes them unique.
Orientation: This then impacts the shops and homes in the immediate vicinity of the square as the closer one is to the square itself, the more they try to embody what is at the heart of the square. The square acts as a reference point for people to orient themselves within the endless sea of buildings.
As the Village Square is meant to function as the heart of our communities, our squares should be placed directly adjacent to churches, chapels, and parishes. Having a religious building in the vicinity lifts the atmosphere of the space by providing a reassurance through order, both moral and spatial.
The square cannot be too large. They are not meant to impress but are crucially meant to function as a second back yard. It is where people in the community meet for everything from friendly hang-outs to official meetings to even carnivals. If you told someone to meet you at the square, you should be able to find them within the whole square at a glance. A square no more than a quarter of a city block keeps the space contained and intimate.
The square is then lined with Mixed Use 3-Story Units. The space needs both shops, restaurants, and offices to add amenities to the square, and it needs residents to support those amenities. One cannot exist without the other. A square with front-facing stores and restaurants will prevent the square from feeling dead and unsafe. Referring back to the eyes-on-street effect, by having shops and restaurants directly on the square (not across the street), witnesses are readily accessible in case something bad happens.