Cohousing-L Mailing List: Lot development walkability [was: Getting started ...

[Fred H Olson (fholson]

On Thu, 15 Jan 2015 Jerry McIntire (jerry.mcintiregmail.com) wrote:

>Another is the [model cohousing development model is ] lot the
>development model. Lots are laid out, infrastructure and a common house put
>in, and the lots are sold to fund it all. Then individual households build
>their own houses. Whether owner-built or contracted, they can be unique and
>the first ones can be built sooner than if the community waits for all the
>members and their money to be on board. Which of course is the model we are
>pursuing at Stone's Throw Ecovillage in Wisconsin.

In my experience how often people walk to gathering nodes etc or talk
casually when they see each other coming and going is quite sensitive
to distance (and stair steps).  How compact and what size are
communities using the lot development model compared to other
communites?

Actually lot size may not be the key factor, suppose lots were
more like wedges of pie slices with front doors toward the center
around a courtyard.  Maybe cumulative distance between front entrances
of units would be a better measure of compactness.

The layout of Highline Crossings Cohousing in Colorado has (as best I
recall) common wall units on two levels but the second level units
have external stairs (recessed into the structure so the do not
intrude of the pedestrian street) and outdoor balconies. This design
results in a more compact community.  The second floor units, tho
seperated by one story from the pedestrian street, are still quite
"close" to the pedestrian street.  While the stairs are somewhat of an
impediment to interaction, I suspect, the net effect seems quite
beneficial to me.

A design like this seems unlikely with lot development.

Fred


-- Fred H. Olson  Minneapolis,MN 55411  USA        (near north Mpls)
Email:        fholson at cohousing.org      612-588-9532 My Link Pg:
http://fholson.cohousing.org         My org: Communications for
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