Density, detached vs attached | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Eric Hart (harteFree-Net.Mpls-StPaul.MN.US) | |
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 95 21:10 CST |
In my work with the Riverside group in Wisconsin we have discussed the issues of density. More specifically we have debated the issue of whether or not units should be clustered with some shared walls or be detached units in a cluster. The issue seemed to be a controversial one and one which people have a large amount of 'baggage' and strong emotions about. I have always had a predjudice against single family detached housing, especially after my studies as an Urban Studies major. The group seemed to have two distinct 'sides', one which wanted the traditional detached house and another which wanted to get away from all that the detached house symbolized and have more shared walls and living space. We were never able to resolve this conflict and what happened was that the people who were ready to move out to the site in the near future started designing their own cluster. They are still working out the details. I don't want to impose my predjudice on any group but still I think that the issue of attached vs detached should be addressed. Clearly there are ecological benefits to building units with shared walls and many of the problems that people encounter in existing shared wall units can be remedied by intelligent design (noise, etc.). The last meeting we had before the whole group stopped planning was to explore people's feelings and fears about living in a unit that has shared walls. Clearly this issue brings up very strong emotions, at least it did with the group I work with. I'm not sure what those emotions are but I know that it certainly would be easier to ignore them and just do the socially acceptable detached unit design. Trying to dispell the old single family detached house myth is important to me but I hit a brick wall when I try start any kind of discussion about it. Its like trying to tell someone that their car isn't good for the environment. Alternatives don't even enter their consciousness. I would be interested to know if other groups have tried to deal with these issues and what the results have been. Riverside is a rural site so land considerations aren't very relevant (they have a 10-20 acre building site). If there was only 3 or 5 acres available, then I could see where there wouldn't be a lot of room for debate (you would have to use attached units to fit all the units in). I do know that there some cohousing communities that have more than a few acres so I would be interested to know if this issue even came up. Eric Hart harte [at] free-net.mpls-stpaul.mn.us
-
Density, detached vs attached Eric Hart, January 20 1995
- Density, detached vs attached Graham Meltzer, January 22 1995
- Re: Density, detached vs attached RAYGASSER, January 22 1995
- RE: Density, detached vs attached Rob Sandelin, January 23 1995
- Re: Density, detached vs attached Jean Pfleiderer, January 23 1995
Results generated by Tiger Technologies Web hosting using MHonArc.