Printer friendly format - Living in a Pocket Neighborhood

Living in a Pocket Neighborhood

In his designs for pocket neighborhoods, architect Ross Chapin tries to cultivate community by finding the right balance between public and private spaces.

Ross Chapin explains the outdoor pattern he often uses in his designs, starting from the parking area or street.

Enter the neighborhood through a gate (or implied gate) into a shared courtyard edged with a low fence and perennial flower border.

Pass through a gate into the private yard, which buffers the distance from the home to the commons.

Provide a porch large enough to be used as a room, with easy access from the inside of the home and open to the shared public space.

Provide a railing thatŐs edged with flower boxes and low enough to still be friendly.

Pocket-Size Me!

Ross outlines the bonuses, both obvious and subtle, of living in dense pocket neighborhoods.

Pocket neighborhoods foster friendships among neighbors.

They provide safe places for children to play, with shirttail aunts and uncles just beyond their front gate.

Homes look out onto a park (not parking).

Their placement contributes to the liveliness and walkability of the neighborhood.

Read more about Ross Chapin's designs at: RossChapin.com