Yeah, town houses--especially when we use an international model and not what they so often are here--lots of asphalt and boring facades. European town houses have front and back gardens, producing lots of flowers and veggies, as well as places for solar clothes dryers (AKA clothes lines). And SIDEWALKS in front, so people can easily visit each other. And with those beautiful front gardens, you want to stroll around your neighborhood.
Margaret On Aug 12, 2008, at 11:12 AM, Wendy Skinner wrote: > I am enjoying this discussion. As a resident of a small, older home > in a > densely populated area of Ithaca served by public transit and within > walking > distance of many key destinations -- doctor, dentist, pharmacy, > earth-friendly clothes and housewares, local and organic produce, > work and > recreation sites, centers of higher education, public meetings, art > exhibits, theatre and music venues, nature trails, scenic vistas -- > I'm glad > every day that I made this choice. To me, this smallish urban center > (a > ready-made node) is somewhat of a utopia. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "George Frantz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Sustainable Tompkins County listserv" > <[email protected]> > Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:50 AM > Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] In older neighborhoods,utilize the > existing homes too... > > > On August 12 Eric Clay wrote: > > "Merely utilizing the homes in Fall Creek at the density the were > meant to > be able to hold would allow the number of people living on my block to > nearly triple, with no new housing construction, energy for heating, > roads, > etc, and the existing water and sewer should be able to handle the > load.." > > I heartily agree with Eric's point that utilizing a lot of our > existing > homes in a much more efficient way is a very important piece of the > puzzle.. > > At the same time, there are many homes throughout American cities, > Ithaca > included, that are rotting off their foundations or functionally > obsolete. > By functionally obsolete homes I mean homes that have low ceilings, > inadequate lighting and ventilation, doors, stairs and bathrooms, > etc. that > cannot accommodate physically disabled persons and rooms that are too > small.. > > The replacement of these homes over the coming years affords us the > opportunity to rebuild our cities as more compact, environmentally, > socially > and economically sustainable communities sustainable communities. We > can > provide homes in our neighborhoods for all residents, not just the > able-bodied. > > As resistant as people may be to "piling" homes together, the > townhouse in > its various iterations world-wide is still nonetheless the most > efficient > form of residential architecture in terms of land, building > materials and > energy resources, while at the same time providing for a high > quality, human > scale urban living experience. > > As I stated in previous posts, a large percentage of the world's > population > has already figured this out and as a result lives in vibrant, dynamic > communities not dominated by the automobile. When will we see the > light? > > George Frantz > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, > please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County > area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
