This text is replaced by the Flash movie.

Lifestyle

Doing Things the "New" Old Way:
Traditional Neighborhood Design at Kitts Creek

When you visit Kitts Creek for the first time, you'll probably find it unlike any community you've ever seen before. The houses all look very distinct from one another, and they're built a little closer to the street than in the typical subdivision. All the garages are set to the rear of the homes, connected by alleys. The front yards are smaller than you're probably used to seeing, bringing the variously-styled front porches nearer to people walking by. The streets are narrower, and the sidewalks are wider. Things feel different here.

We hope most folks respond favorably to the unique character of Kitts Creek, but we're aware some people are just going to find it unusual. When you encounter something so new and off the beaten path, it's only natural to puzzle over why it's that way and jump to false conclusions. Some people might guess Kitts Creek is part of some weird postmodern fad in housing design, a novelty that would only appeal to a particular niche of homebuyers. Some might think Kitts Creek's intimate layout is the result of jamming together as many home sites as possible for maximum profit. Such speculations could not be further from the truth.

To help you understand what Kitts Creek is all about, we need to explain some of the philosophy behind it. At ExperienceOne Homes, we are driven by our dedication to build the best quality homes anywhere and ensure complete satisfaction for our customers. Beyond that, we are also deeply motivated by the principles of traditional neighborhood design.

What is Traditional Neighborhood Design?

Traditional neighborhood design is an emerging movement in urban planning and real estate development. It's also known as new urbanism or neo-traditional design, but there's really nothing "new" about the concept at all. Traditional neighborhood design marks a return to the original methods and practices that created the small-town America of the early 20th century.

In those days, communities were designed as self-contained, mixed-use developments. Homes, offices, schools and shops were organized in close enough proximity that most of a family's daily needs were within walking distance. Neighborhoods had narrow streets arranged in regular grids, which slowed vehicles through residential areas and created multiple routes for traffic to flow in and out. The individually designed and built homes were characterized by front porches facing the sidewalk, instead of garages. All of these factors contributed to a pedestrian-friendly environment where neighbors knew each other well and interacted on a regular basis. Communities had a sense of identity, and residents could feel a high level of comfort, safety and belonging in the place where they lived.

This traditional neighborhood pattern began to change after World War II, transformed by the dominance of the automobile, the new urban planning principle of zoning areas for single uses, and the introduction of production home building. These powerful influences spawned the modern phenomenon known as urban sprawl, characterized by the proliferation of rigidly segregated residential, commercial and industrial areas around the undeveloped outskirts of an established urban center.

As it came to be taken for granted that people would be driving nearly everywhere in the course of routine activities, communities came to be designed on a vehicular level instead of a human level. Walking as a form of transportation became impractical not only because of the greater distances created, but also from the hazards of high-speed traffic. Production houses strayed from the culture of front-porch socializing, and their architectural conformity and cul-de-sac configurations encouraged people to stay isolated. With fewer opportunities for natural face-to-face interaction, neighbors became more likely to be strangers. People feel less of a bond with their community, confronted with increased cynicism, crime and general dissatisfaction with their chosen home.

As an antidote to the problems of urban sprawl, the new revival of traditional neighborhood design emerged in the 1980s. The idea is a simple one: creating new communities that return to the organizational principles of years past, updated for modern times as necessary, to promote true neighborhoods bound together by personal interaction. Traditional neighborhood design strives to create environments that accommodate pedestrian traffic and bicycles on equal terms with trucks and cars, where identity and individuality triumph over faceless detachment.

What Does This Mean for Kitts Creek?

ExperienceOne Homes firmly embraces the ideology of traditional neighborhood design, and we've done our best to make Kitts Creek a reflection of it. Of course, a residential development alone can only achieve a limited portion of the complete "new urbanist" scenario - Kitts Creek doesn't encompass places for residents to work and shop, and it can't alter the surrounding infrastructure of Morrisville and the Triangle area. We also recognize that traditional neighborhood design is not a recipe for instant utopia. It would be foolish to suggest that any community can magically fabricate the world of Mayberry R.F.D. and cure all the complex problems of modern life.

But we do believe a well-designed community can make life better. Within the boundaries of Kitts Creek, we have brought things back to the human scale. The streets are engineered to be walkable instead of just drivable, and the front porches invite conversation and camaraderie among neighbors. The primary amenity features and common areas are located deep in the heart of the community instead of being right at the main entrance, because we're more interested in making them accessible to residents than impressing visitors with a splashy showcase up front. Our homeowners have told us that it really does work. All these deliberate touches have propagated a more open and engaging atmosphere where people feel connected to each other and their community.

This is the reasoning behind the many unusual structural and planning decisions that have gone into Kitts Creek. The traditional neighborhood design principles that we endorse do not represent a "new wave" so much as a return to community-building practices that worked well in earlier times. It's not just a novelty, and it's not shallow marketing capitalizing on nostalgia. Planning departments nationwide are adopting this model as a meaningful way to reverse the socially detrimental repercussions of urban sprawl, in favor of producing a living environment that makes more sense. The ideas of traditional neighborhood design are even entering into law, as town planners around the country and in the Triangle area are proposing "anti-monotony" regulations aimed at stemming the tide of cookie-cutter neighborhoods through enforced diversity.

However unconventional Kitts Creek may seem upon first blush, this is not a niche community or part of some passing fad. By its plainly diverse and eclectic nature, Kitts Creek is intended to meet the needs and aspirations of a broad demographic spectrum, from young professionals and families with kids to retired couples, which is the essence of community. Kitts Creek is on the vanguard of an emerging movement in real estate development that won't seem quite so atypical in the next ten or fifteen years - a new convention that reclaims the smart thinking of old, and boldly puts the neighbor back in neighborhood.



To learn more about traditional neighborhood design, visit
www.newurbanism.org or www.newurbannews.com

Nationally recognized successes in traditional neighborhood design: