Design Bones

Read more about the article What Makes a Good Porch?
Design & Planning / Living in Community / Design Bones / Home Design / Privacy and Personal Space / Home / Cottages / Small House / Not So Big House / Blog-Plans / Details that Make a Difference

What Makes a Good Porch?

The magic of a front porch comes from the way it is both private and public—belonging to the household, yet open to passersby. Sometimes it’s the perfect spot for reading a book or taking an afternoon nap. Other times it hosts a laptop supper or good conversation with friends.  …

0 Comments
May 28, 2025
Read more about the article Jane Jacobs: Ideas That Live On
TORONTO, ON: Jane Jacobs outside her home on Spadina Road just north of Bloor Street. Photo taken by Frank Lennon/Toronto Star Dec. 21, 1968. Toronto's in good shape, says author Jane Jacobs, but "We've got to be thinking about how we make sure it stays that way." Just being Canadian gives it some advantage, she says, but she fears amalgamation will bring some of the problems of cities like New York." (Frank Lennon/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
Blog-RCA / Design & Planning / Great Neighborhoods / Design Bones

Jane Jacobs: Ideas That Live On

I’m enjoying reading articles here, here and here about Jane Jacobs. Born in 1916, she was a self-taught urbanist and citizen activist who championed walking-scaled, neighborhood-centered cities. Though she had no college degree or professional training, she took on the power brokers of New York’s urban renewal policies of the…

0 Comments
January 1, 2025
Read more about the article Pocket Neighborhoods for Special Niches
Design for Disabilties / Blog-RCA / Design & Planning / Living in Community / Design Bones / Pocket Neighborhoods / Site Planning / Design Patterns / Design for Disabilities

Pocket Neighborhoods for Special Niches

Here is a community designed to provide safe and permanent housing for adults with intellectual, developmental and acquired disabilities. Over the years we’ve helped create pocket neighborhoods for singles and empty nesters, market-rate multi-generational buyers and folks needing affordable housing. When developer Mark Roth approached us about creating a safe…

10 Comments
September 16, 2015
Read more about the article Cohousing vs Pocket Neighborhoods – What’s the Difference?
Blog-RCA / Design & Planning / Living in Community / A Child's World / Cohousing / Design Bones / Featured / Pocket Neighborhoods / Site Planning / Design Patterns / Cohousing / What's the Difference?

Cohousing vs Pocket Neighborhoods – What’s the Difference?

Cohousing has been taking hold across North America and around the world, offering an enticing option for people wanting to live in a more closely knit community. Some even call it a movement. Pocket Neighborhoods are being tossed around as a viable housing approach within existing neighborhoods, as well as…

8 Comments
August 22, 2015