Village Homes has been running since the late 1980s in Davis, California. The completed development includes 225 homes and 20 apartments. This is how it works:
• Orientation: All streets trend east–west and all lots are oriented north–south. This orientation (which has become standard practice in Davis and elsewhere) helps the houses make full use of the sun’s energy. It’s not possible to drive straight to the village centre, so the roundabout route makes the car less attractive than the footpaths, which do go straight to the centre.
• Footpaths wind beside swales where water is directed to keep rainwater where it falls to grow plants and trees, including fruit trees, grapes and more
• Street width: Roads are narrow (for the US) – less than 7.5 metres wide and without sidewalks – and have curving cul-de-sacs. Their narrow widths minimise the amount of pavement exposed to sun in the long, hot summers (the suburb is six or more degrees cooler than adjoining suburbs). The curving lines of the roads give them the look of village lanes, and the few cars that venture into the cul-de-sacs usually travel slowly.
• Pedestrian/bike paths and common areas: Alternating with the streets is an extensive system of pedestrian/bike paths, running through common areas that exhibit a variety of landscaping, garden areas, play structures, BBQs and artworks. Most houses face these common areas rather than the streets, so that emphasis in the village is on pedestrian and bike travel rather than cars.
• Natural drainage: The common areas also contain Village Homes’s innovative natural drainage system, a network of creek beds, swales, and pond areas that allow rainwater to be absorbed into the ground rather than carried away through storm drains. Besides helping to store moisture in the soil, this system provides a visually interesting backdrop for landscape design.
• Edible landscaping: Fruit and nut trees and vineyards form a large element of the project. More than 30 varieties of fruit trees were originally planted so some fruit is ripe and ready to eat nearly every month of the year.
• Greenbelt areas: These are the formally landscaped parks and ornamental areas maintained by the gardeners. They’re located along the major north–south pedestrian/bike paths that run along the east and west sides of the community.
• Agricultural lands: These come in two forms. Firstly, the gardens bordering the community on the west pedestrian/bike path and the orchards and vineyards are found throughout the community. Secondly, the garden agricultural lands are for the private use of residents; the orchards and vineyards are maintained primarily by the gardeners and can be harvested by all residents. Over 24 percent of food is grown in the roads and orchards.
• Diverse home design
• Open land: In addition to the common areas between homes, Village Homes also includes two big parks, extensive greenbelts with pedestrian/bike paths, two vineyards, several orchards, and two large common gardening areas. The commonly owned open land comes to 40 percent of the total acreage (25 percent in greenbelts and 15 percent in common areas), a much greater proportion than in most suburban developments. Thirteen percent of the developed land area is devoted to streets and parking bays, and the remaining 47 percent to private lots, which generally include an enclosed private yard or courtyard on the street side of the house.
Take a 10 minute walk through the subdivision with this video
The data from this project shows integrating food production with housing to be the most successful form of urban design. House prices are the highest in the city and sales are the quickest. It has the lowest per capita energy use. Four out of five friends of the children live there – no getting into cars for birthday parties far away. Maintenance costs are met by selling the produce at a profit that brings income to the project for other purposes. The roads were designed to exclude cars; walking and cycling dominate.
Remember as you read this that the project is over 30 years old; yet few have copied it for reasons I’m unclear about.
Michael
(If you’re interested in some of my short videos about how to build and live sustainably, they are here, Michael)