The housing supply-demand gap has grown so huge in desirable places that the panic to add more units is overshadowing what should be obvious about human needs goals As an architect, I have spent years working on community-oriented housing projects within the private market. I’ve pursued affordability through smaller home
Cottage Courtyard developments are becoming enticing alternatives to prevailing single-family and condo development patterns. But how and where can they get built? What zoning allows for them? Are there specific codes to enable cottage courtyard development? While many cities have planned unit development (PUD) permitting tracks that allow such development,
As I fly back to Minnesota to be with my family for Thanksgiving, I think about looking out on the lake I grew up next to. At this time of year, the last leaves have fallen, the temperatures drop into the 20s and everyone is anticipating the first ice
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
The burning of Notre Dame is a devastating blow to the heart. I gasped when I first saw the images of the burning spire, and every time my thoughts turn to this historic loss, I feel shock, sadness and grief. How can this be? I stretch to grasp the loss.
Continuing the small house thread from our last post, we’ve been brainstorming into how tiny houses (< 350 SF) may be a viable housing option. Rather than being low-profile ‘outlaw’ houses, lets bring them into the neighborhood. Let them stand tall as beautiful homes for 20-Somethings, Active (Older) Singles, and
Small houses are getting a lot of press days. They are capturing our imagination, teasing our nesting instinct, and enticing us to consider the possibility of living with a smaller mortgage or less rent. Squeezed by the economy and a monoculture housing market, millennials, singles, empty nesters, and elders are
As I write this, we’ve just passed the Autumn Equinox. The sun is out, the air is fresh and the leaves on the trees are beginning to color. It’s a bit cliché to say it’s a reflective time, but I’d like to share a personal experience from childhood and how
I had an engaging conversation recently with Sally Fox, a podcaster and leadership consultant, covering a range of big ideas. We talked about zugenruhe moments of restlessness, finding our passion and right work, navigating cultural shifts, the Beauty Mind and our antenna for sweet spots, the makeup of thriving communities,
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
