Building a Sustainable Community

A new development coming to Norfolk will try to re-imagine neighborhood living as we know it. Picture, if you will, a place where playing children cross paths with strolling older couples, and neighbors call greetings to each other from their front porches. A central green beckons in nice weather, and a community garden overflows with fresh produce. This idyllic vision of neighborhood life, known as a pocket or cottage community, is rooted in a smart-growth national movement that encourages environmentally-friendly and thoughtful housing.
Boyde’s Crossing, an enclave of 40 homes set on 9 acres, will break ground in July near the center of town. Maybe you grew up in a place like this, or maybe you just wish you did. Speaking to our collective memories of what is a neighborhood, the new community will marry the desire for a simpler, friendlier time with forward-thinking, sustainable green design.
Named after one of Norfolk’s original settlers, Boyde’s Crossing will be one of only a handful of pocket neighborhoods in the state. The concept, prevalent on the west coast, is slowly moving east. Pioneered by Seattle-area architect Ross Chapin, pocket neighborhoods are groups of smaller homes, clustered around a shared open space, usually near town centers and public transportation. These small-scale communities buck the trend of McMansions on multi-acre lots, and their proponents see them as a direct antidote to automobile-fueled suburban sprawl.
Designing a Sense
of Place
According to Chapin, pocket neighborhoods are “physical arrangements of houses or apartments, or even trailers, designed to foster neighborly interactions while preserving personal privacy.” The number of homes in these arrangements is central to the concept of a pocket neighborhood, believes Chapin.
“The size of the cluster relates to the scale of sociability—the number of people we can easily relate to on a daily basis,” said Chapin in an email. “My sense is that that number is 6-10 households, perhaps a dozen at max. In a large development with more houses, the clusters would still have the same number, but would be connected with walkways and greenspaces to neighboring clusters.”
A central, shared outdoor space is an equally important aspect of pocket neighborhoods. Think of it as a kind of outdoor living room, open and inviting to all the residents of a pocket development. With clearly defined boundaries, “neighbors have a shared stake in the common ground they live next to,” noted Chapin. “Residents surrounding this common space take part in its care and oversight, thereby enhancing a real sense of security and identity.”
Pocket neighborhoods tend to have cross-generational appeal: young, working people without the time to maintain a big home; empty-nesters who want to downsize; and smaller families. According to Chapin, the pocket neighborhood concept can work for affluent communities as well as for low-income housing. The common denominator, however, is the desire for a place that feels friendly, safe, and is convenient to public transportation.
Boyde’s Crossing will tick off all of those boxes. The homes will face an inner green and be connected by walking paths, promoting interaction with neighbors. Its location near the center of Norfolk, as well as community bikes and bike racks, will discourage the dependence on cars. A community garden, dubbed a Victory Garden, will encourage residents to grow and share vegetables. And a central, outdoor gathering place for residents will help foster the sense of belonging.
Research by the Young Foundation, a non-profit think tank, suggests people are happier when they feel connected to their community. By design, pocket neighborhoods encourage residents to see and get to know their neighbors, a natural way to develop relationships. Porches are located in the front of the homes, not in the back, a transitional space between the privacy of the home and the public sidewalk. And anecdotal evidence suggests pocket neighborhoods have low-crime rates, since strangers stand out. Parents feel freer to let their children roam and play outside.
In pocket neighborhoods, streets are generally on the periphery and do not cross the common areas, enhancing the feeling of security for residents. “It is important that the car does not dominate,” emphasized Chapin. Garages are never the main entrance into the home. In Boyde’s Crossing, roadways will be behind the homes, and garages will be under the homes. Several shared, solar-powered parking structures will be located around the edges of the neighborhood, also.
A Green Community
By definition, pocket neighborhoods tend to be green communities. According to the popular sustainability website Treehugger.com, green communities naturally connect neighbors, re-think travel by decreasing reliance on cars, and encourage buying, growing and eating local.
“Pocket neighborhoods have green aspects to them—shared amenities, more walkability, community gardens, low water use,” agreed Chapin.
According to Bisher Hashem of Stonebridge Homes, the developer of Boyde’s Crossing, “Pocket neighborhoods are environmentally friendly due to consuming less land and having a smaller carbon footprint.”
Boyde’s Crossing, said Hashem, will include myriad green components, such as drought-tolerant landscaping, rain barrels and cistern for the community garden, and solar site/walkway lighting. The individual homes will be energy efficient and include rapidly renewable and recycled building materials, alternative siding, low-emitting materials, low-emissivity double-pane windows, and Energy-Star appliances. Water efficiency will be a hallmark of the community; the homes will include tankless water heaters, faucet and showerhead flow-reducers, and ultra-low flush toilets. In addition, the land will be cleared by goats, the ultimate low-carbon and eco-friendly weed remover.
Impact on Norfolk
Hashem believes the development will have a positive impact on the town of Norfolk by generating more foot traffic to the center, as well as attracting people who desire a stronger sense of community. Boyde’s Crossing “will invite a buyer that is a good steward of the environment and tends to be a responsible member of society,” said Hashem.
Norfolk Town Administrator Jack Hathaway believes the development will spur more growth in the downtown area.
“I think this development will help us achieve a goal that we have pursued for many years, building density in the downtown,” said Hathaway. “With more residents living downtown, we hope to inspire some additional commercial development.”
Proponents of pocket communities believe the neighborhoods are much more than just buildings, however. In a deeper sense, they believe they are a way to build a more resilient society.
“The fabric of social health in our society has been fraying,” writes Chapin. “Pocket neighborhoods can help mend a web of belonging, care and support. Their protected setting encourages informal interaction among neighbors, laying the ground for caring relationships. All of these encounters strengthen webs of support and friendship, which are the basis for healthy, livable communities.”
For more information about Boyde’s Crossing, and to view a video of the development, visit www.stonebridgehomesinc.com; or contact Danielle Rochefort with Berkshire Hathaway Page Realty at 508-954-7690.