|
Until the 20th century most people lived in a small town,
village or a rural area. The towns and villages had clear boundaries and unique identities. I use the word "village" to
describe a subdivision in the TEN BLOCK VILLAGE PLAN because it is a traditional word used to describe a community with many
different types of homes and shops. A village may have parks, schools, churches or other amenities.
Each village in the PLAN has ten blocks north to south and ten blocks east to west. Naturally, developers would adapt
the plan to fit their own needs. Local terrain may require significant adjustments and many new projects are not large enough
to include ten blocks.
The TEN BLOCK VILLAGE PLAN places schools, recreational facilities, restaurants, and other businesses in a location near
the center of each ten-block village. Many current zoning laws keep businesses totally out of residential subdivisions, contrary
to what was the norm in the early 20th century. The deliberate separation of homes and businesses causes residents to drive
a long distance for their most common needs, such as a buying a loaf of bread. The PLAN returns to the traditional mix of
residential and non-residential buildings.
TRADITIONAL NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENTS (TND)
Some new projects in North America are using the principals of Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TND). A typical
TND will have a mix of homes and stores. Among other things, a TND is designed to encourage pedestrians and bicycles. Automobiles
are accommodated, but they do not dominate all decisions in the TND.
Other names for TNDs are neo-traditional planning, new urbanism, transit-oriented development and low-density urbanism.
Some advocates of TNDs advocate designing very small communities. They want the homes in the new communities located
no more than 1/4 mile from the center to promote walking by homeowners. Their intention is that no one has to walk very far
to the amenities of the community.
While a small village may be a good idea for a densely populated area, I believe that most new projects in North America
will not be densely populated. A small village will not have enough residents needed to support stores or schools. The TEN
BLOCK VILLAGE PLAN is a compromise between those who advocate very small, dense communities and those who design typical suburban
sprawl.
Even the full-size TEN BLOCK VILLAGE PLAN may have too few customers to support a large grocery store if it only includes
single-family homes. A low-density village may have to share a large grocery store with adjacent villages. A village with
a mix of townhouses, condos, senior housing and apartments along with single-family homes would be more desirable than a village
with only single-family homes. A village with moderate-density housing would provide the large number of customers necessary
to support a shopping center.
A mix of housing would also give residents a choice of where to live in the village during the different stages of their
lives. Young adults may want an apartment or condo. A married couple with children may want to move into a single-family
house or townhouse. Retirees may decide to sell their large family home and move into a smaller townhouse, apartment or some
type of senior living complex. The PLAN allows people to live their entire life in one community, if they so desire. Most
subdivisions force people to move when their housing needs change because the homes are rigidly segregated by the housing
type and by price.
PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATIONS
There are thousands of Property Owner Associations (POAs) across North America. Some are created for a single building
with condos, while others control huge Master Planned Communities. Some Associations take care of the day to day operations
of a community in a manner very similar to a municipal government: private streets, private water system, private security,
etc. Every Association is governed by a Board of Directors elected by the Property Owners.
I suggest that each village in the PLAN have its own association. I believe that most residents would prefer a small
Association to make decisions for their village alone over a large association responsible for several villages.
If a new project is built in an unincorporated area I would suggest that the villages in the PLAN be left unincorporated.
Creating a municipal government in addition to a POA is an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy. The county government could
maintain the arterial streets (Parkways) and maybe the collector streets (Village Drives). The Association could maintain
the residential streets in the village as private property.
The County Sheriff would continue to be responsible for overall law enforcement in an unincorporated village while the
POA could support a private security patrol. The elected county officials would continue to care of their traditional duties
at the courthouse while the POA for the village could maintain swimming pools, parks, and golf courses. Each Board of Directors
could decide just how strict or how lenient they want the rules and regulations to be for a village.
|
