Further this pattern is exactly at the right scale for creating an ideal in-group, according to the handicap principle. This way we can grow the bright side of the force!
If you are familiar with A Pattern Language you can recognize several patterns from the video. Wow!
The people who live in these most sought-after communities know they share something extraordinarily valuable: a model of community that provides a missing link. They have their cherished privacy, but with something more: they get to know each other in a meaningful way, and are able to offer one another the kind of support system that family members across town, across state or across country cannot. - Ross ChapinUnfortunately, Norway's nr.1 pocket neighborhood enthusiast has recently been forced to leave his pocket neighborhood, the only pocket neighborhood in the town of Gjøvik, because he and his family were not loved for their love to Ross Chapin's beautiful pocket neighborhoods.
In that pocket neighborhood people had no clue they shared something extraordinary valuable. But the real victims were the girls. All four of them.
Pocket Neighborhoods: Small-Scale Living in a Large-Scale World
Article from Shareable, by Kelly McCartney
From Whidbey Island, Washington, to Winnsboro, Texas, pocket neighborhoods are taking root in communities in search of a simpler, more shareable way of life. In a pocket neighborhood, houses with a smaller-than-normal footprint surround a shared green space. The more public areas of the homes -- living room, dining room, and kitchen -- face the commons, with the bedrooms situated away from public views. The design is both community-oriented and environmentally friendly.
My good friend Ross Chapin, with Christopher Alexander as his guru, just like for PermaLiv.
At the forefront of the movement stands architect Ross Chapin. His Third Street Cottages project in Langley, Washington, features eight small cottages on two-thirds of an acre with the green commons as the hub. Chapin's tag line, "Creating Small-Scale Community in a Large-Scale World" touches on the heart of the matter. Many people would love to keep the comraderie of community without forsaking the sanctity of single-family housing.
Chapin notes, "The people who live in these most sought-after communities know they share something extraordinarily valuable: a model of community that provides a missing link. They have their cherished privacy, but with something more: they get to know each other in a meaningful way, and are able to offer one another the kind of support system that family members across town, across state or across country cannot."
It's an old idea come back around, as this model of living truly dates back to ancient settlements. Anyone not living under a rock for the past few years can easily understand why smaller-scale living is a good thing on multiple levels. Chapin spells it out this way: "People are re-imagining how they live in their homes and in their communities. The American Dream of owning a single-family home with a garage seems to be fading fast. Demographics and family structures have changed significantly and we are living in a larger scale world than our grandparents – a world with vastly more stresses and pressures."
If it truly does take a village to raise a child -- or do just about anything else -- then we really ought to start building more villages. Pocket neighborhoods might be just the thing to get us going.
 |
| The Highlands at Langley on Whidbey Island in Washington State. Why are Norwegians so afraid for this? Is it because we're all a bunch of losers? |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.