Yard
- Posted by ryan on August 6th, 2008 filed in Cities
Atrios writes:
I Want A Big Yard In A Walkable Community
But you can’t have it! Or, more specifically, if everyone has a big yard the community ceases to be especially walkable. That isn’t to say that you can’t have developments with yards relatively near to retail, so that there is stuff within walking distance. You can still have corner shops or similar, but having sufficient residential density to support significant neighborhood-serving retail isn’t really compatible with everyone has a big yard.
Keep your yard! Just understand the tradeoff.
I don’t mean to pick on Atrios, because he does a lot of great urbanism stuff, but this is also only half right. You can have walkability and a big yard, so long as you aren’t picky about whether or not the yard is your own private property. That’s the tradeoff.
The essence of a good, walkable, urban place is density, but it’s density that’s achieved in part by publicly supplying a lot of the things people want, and thereby achieving a more efficient use of space. Is it necessary for every last home on the block to have a decorative, manicured lawn that does nothing but sit there getting watered and mowed? No way, a couple of public gardens will suffice. Is it necessary for every home to have its own blacktop square with basketball hoop that sits unused 99 percent of the time? Is it necessary for every home to have a place for a father and son to play catch, or for a guy to sit in the shade and read?
A well-planned city will provide good public spaces–sidewalks and retail corridors and public gardens and parks. When you frame the tradeoff as being between open space and walkability, many will say, oh well, it would have been cool to walk places. But that’s not necessarily how it has to be. Washingtonians can sit on their patio or balcony and grill or have a coffee, and when they need more space to shoot hoops or admire some greenery or whatever, there are plenty of places to do that. And when they don’t want to make their own coffee and sit by themselves, well, they can walk to places where they don’t have to.
Granted, not all cities have well planned public places, but most do. And I know that some people simply want to be able to walk outside and look at a bunch of grass and know that that’s theirs. But others detest the mowing and watering and leaf raking and just have the lawn because they think that’s what kids need. But kids don’t care if you own the dirt they’re rolling around in or not.
August 6th, 2008 at 10:47 am
I think our townhome community has the best of both worlds. Each townhouse has a very small front and rear yard, which are essentially places for us to garden, grill and store our garbage carts, but the rest of our common grounds are wooded and/or lawned that can be used for catch, frisbee, etc.
August 6th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Nearly every apartment or condo building prohibits grilling on a balcony or patio, UL says it is one of the most dangerous things you can do, and on top of it is against the law. (I know it is in Va, not sure about DC). So yes, to grill you need a back yard.
August 6th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Or an indoor-safe grill. Or a building with community grills. And really, how much back yard do you need to grill?
August 6th, 2008 at 11:37 am
This brings up a big question I have. What is the largest property you can have and still consider yourself contributing to (rather than detracting from) sustainable density? I personally don’t love living in apartments, and I don’t plan to live in one forever. I hope to have enough money eventually to own a rowhouse or a small detached home. It seems to me that having a four person family in a 500-800 sq. foot footprint rowhouse in a transit and retail rich neighborhood is “good enough” density (I was no math major, but I think that comes to roughly 150,000 people per square mile, which sounds ridiculously high).
But then again, to support the transit and retail rich environment, you have to have more people than four per 750 square feet of land. You need people living in apartment buildings at the transportation nodes.
But does it make you a hypocrite to want to live in the single family homes just off the nodes? Aren’t you leeching off the benefits created by those that live in apartments buildings?
August 6th, 2008 at 11:41 am
The first thing I thought when I read Atrios’ post was, “Baltimore seems to have some very walkable neighborhoods where the row houses have a skinny little backyard for ‘em.” Aside from Baltimore’s many other urban problems, that actually seems like a workable compromise between density and private space?
But I know in my case, it’s not the yard that’s the big trade-off. My daughter’s favorite place in the world is the playground at Tompkins Square Park in New York’s Lower East Side, she’d rather be there than in our yard.
The much more difficult trade-off is workspace. I’d prefer multiple communal spaces in short walking distance to a yard, but I like using my own tools in my own workspace (and not having to go out to Dumbo to use them). Still, that’s probably an easier trick to pull off in a higher density environment than a full blown yard and garden…
August 6th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
My wife and I bought an “urban home” close to downtown Austin back in 2001. It’s got next to no yard — basically, enough room for a patio and a grill (and a sandbox). We bought it because it was cheaper, and because we didn’t want to fool with keeping up a yard.
Now that we have a son, we’re wrestling with whether to get a bigger yard. Our neighborhood has a park, but the real issue is safety — we’d like him to have a place to play without constant supervision. A back yard fits the bill; the park doesn’t.
It’s a tough call. We don’t want to move from the center of town, which has lots of great parks and other amenities. Nor do we want take on the upkeep. But we want him little AC to have a place to play without bugging mommy or daddy to stop what they’re doing. Dunno what we’ll do.
August 6th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
An indoor grill?? Come on, those things are garbage, you may as well stay in your kitchen and use the Forman Grill. Also, who really want’s to use a community grill? What if you have to wait in line, what if it is no good, what if your condo/appartment doesn’t maintian them. I’m not saying you need a huge yard, but I would think that most people want a little something. That basically equals row houses at the minimum, and as the poster above noted, that type of density just doesn’t cut it.
August 6th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
You’re right, the whole urban enterprise comes apart because of the need for an outdoor grill.
Let me ask you something: when you go to your favorite steakhouse and order a filet, is it cooked by some guy out back standing over a Weber?
August 6th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Real chefs know that searing a steak is much better anyway.
The key is to slow bake a steak (oven at 275 degrees) until the internal temp. is 90 degrees (about 20 minutes). Then sear the hell of it for 2 minutes per side on a very hot iron skillet.
It’ll look like crap coming out of the oven, but once you sear it, it’ll look great and it’ll be the best steak you’ve ever made.
(If you absolutely have to have the dark lines to enjoy the steak, just get a ridged cast iron skillet)
[All credit for this idiot-proof recipe goes to Cooks Illustrated]
August 6th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
It’s not just about the steak, as granted it is not the best way to cook it (Although it may be for burgers Hot Dogs etc.). Also, what American doesn’t want to have bbq’s in their own yard? Try having one in public space, and see how fast you get nailed for having an open containiner. Overall though, it is the fundemental desire that most of us have wanting YOUR OWN outdoor space to use.
“Land is the only thing in the world that amounts to anything, for ‘tis the only thing in this world that lasts…. ‘Tis the only thing worth working for, worth fighting for—worth dying for.”
August 6th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
And really, how much back yard do you need to grill?
Well, if you’re insane like me, you need a lot of yard.
Some condos let you get around the no grill rule by using an electric grill. But really that just sex without love. And nobody wants that.
Clearly, the biggest problem with a shared communal park setting is the continue privatization of public space. You’ve got the stroller crowd hating on the dog crowd. The teenagers hating on the newcomers. The ex smokers hating on the smokers. Nobody likes the homeless using the park for a toilet, except maybe CCNV. And they have yet to get those “You are entering a drug free zone” signs to actually work. Not that I don’t mind a wiff of the chronic now and again, but really. A little consideration please.
You really opened a can of worms with that bbq crack, Ryan. Do not get between a man and his ‘que. We’re building a levee, burger by burger, steak by steak, against that raging wall of manure. Breach my levee at your peril.
August 6th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Gosh Local, I don’t know how to say this without offending, but with the challenges this country’s about to facing with the economy, energy, population, and ecology, the available options may be about more than your fundamental desires, and will certainly be of a larger scope than where you’d prefer to do your grillin’. Sorry to put it that way, but that’s a fact.
It’s gonna be rough for lots of folks, myself included, after having iPods and single occupancy vehicles and big box stores and 18 different variants of Nacho Cheese available to satisfy our every particular individual whim. But I get the feeling that we’re gonna have to learn to think a lot more from the perspective of “what can we all live with” rather than “what is it that I want”.
It may not even be so bad, I remember radio stations being a hell of a lot better when that’s what we all had to listen to.
August 6th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
sigh.
s/about to facing/about to face/
Ryan, may I humbly suggest one of these very fine preview comment plugins for your very fine blawg:
Live Comment Preview
AJAX Comment Preview (cause all the kids are AJAXificatin’ these days, mostly with ball bearings.)
August 6th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
All right, I might try to play with those comment plugins this weekend, though do be advised that I very well may blow up the blog.
August 6th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Chigans, I don’t know how to say this without offending, but the simple fact is the “what is it that I want” attitude is what makes capitalistic countries great while the “what can we all live with” attitude makes socialistic countries not.
To quote the philosopher Gordon Gecko: “the point is, Ladies and Gentlemen that greed - for lack of a better word - is good. Greed is right. Greed Works”
Learn it. Live it. Love it
August 6th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Grilling alone is not fun. For a 3-5 family parallel-grilling (min 15-20 people) you need a large backyard. Using it every other week from May to October would be around 20 times a year (as this is an over estimate, I would estimate 15 afternoons). 15 out of about 150 days, is 10% utilization. (Sure this number can climb up to 50% or so, for at most! 2 decades, if you have min 2 kids). But do you really want to purchase and maintain a quarter mile-is garden close to city (or neighborhood) center for such a low utilization?
In my view parks or common gardens at the back of the condos could be a solution to the bbq issue. Of course you need parks (not necessarily much more or bigger!) but differentiated ones, with designated places for: dogs, toddlers, smokers, non-smokers, skate borders, bbq-ers etc.
The common gardens in the hart of the blocks could also provide safe playground for kids. Unfortunately, these places are set aside for surface parking, garages, back alleys, storage places or simply got built in.
Off topic:
What is the deals with cats in DC? While I haven’t seen a single one, I have encountered 10 rats in 8 days.
August 6th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
I grill year-round. And I’m not alone.
The common garden idea is where urban condo developments should be going. Unfortunately, almost all are still wedded to cars: the core of the block is either built on top of underground parking, or every rowhouse needs its own garage.
As for cats, there is a large feral cat population in DC. Unfortunately, it cannot keep pace with the obscene fecundity of the vermin which, if it isn’t the name of a death metal band, it oughtta be.
August 6th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Vermin is the name of the bahnd, mahn.
Öbscëne Fecündity was the second album, everything after that was mainstream garbage. Fuckin’ sell outs.
I do remember there bein’ a few blocks in Hayes Valley in San Francisco where the apartment buildings facing parallel streets had a common courtyard, and the tenants of all the surrounding buildings got to know each other really well. New Orleans has a lot of blocks like that as well, yeah?
August 6th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
N.O. is a kinda odd model, because they retained a lot of the older single family units, especially on the east side of town. Very much a relaxed, College Park MD vibe. The 9th Ward veered more towards the suburban stripmall vibe, before it got erased by the Wrath of God. Make of that what you will.
S.F. is my idea of extremely dense development, but in a good way. Transit points any way you turn and you’re never more than a few blocks from a bus/trolly/streetcar/cab. Astronomically expensive, but there it is. If I could afford it, I’d live there.
And the food makes DC look like a pile of puke.
August 6th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
I think everyone who ever wants to discuss this ever should visit Portland, OR. I’ve lived in two different neighborhoods on the east side, and they both have options for walking. Most Portlanders still rely on cars for the majority of their trips, but it is certainly not necessary. Many of the east-west streets of the city that used to be “streetcar suburbs” are now surrounded by single family homes on small lots, but still plenty for gardening and BBQ’ing.
The neighborhood arterials may have mixed use condo and townhouse developments, while away from that there is mostly single family and small apartment complexes. While I’m sure this pattern exists in many other cities, most of them are probably a lot bigger in size and a smaller proportion of the city lives in such a walkable/bikeable area.
August 7th, 2008 at 8:19 am
to be clear, you can have some yard just not the big archetypal suburban yard.
August 7th, 2008 at 9:16 am
A well-planned city will provide good public spaces–sidewalks and retail corridors and public gardens and parks.
You already have this along some major transit corridors, like Route 1 between Belvoir, VA as far north as Laurel, MD. Immediately adjacent to the road you have the usual stripmalls, but beyond that you also have smaller single family and semi-detatched units. They could use a lot more higher multiunit rentals. But there are quite a few public parks, wildlife sanctuaries, even private parks (I belong to one). But once you go a mile or so beyond, you start getting into the bigger yards and the cul de sacs.
Instead of widening Route 1, they need to focus on more mixed-use development. I believe something along these lines is in the works for the North Kings Highway/Route 1 interchange. And that particular corridor would benefit from some light rail development. You have a lot of contractors who do the Quantico/Belvoir/Crystal City/Pentagon route.
August 7th, 2008 at 11:52 am
New Orleans has, almost everywhere, long skinny lots that make for great communal spaces in the back (such as the swimming pool shared by everyone on my block!). We also don’t have open container laws, which is GREAT, because then people actually socialize in public spaces.
It’s a third-world kind of town, but we like it that way.
August 7th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Local,
Greed is not good. Greed never was good. Don’t believe the lies. Your grandma was right.
Greed is what caused/is causing the unraveling of our current financial system. There is a reason why there’s rules in markets. Otherwise, greed would cause them to be unstable. The reason why there are rules in financial markets about transparency is that no one would trade anything if everyone thought that everyone else was hiding some key information in order to rip them off.
Greed is a big piece of the puzzle that has caused us to build an incredibly expensive suburban road infrastructure that is about to bankrupt its funding source, the gas tax. Suburbia is just a built environment built for greed. Rather than being resourceful with the now past historical anamoly of cheap energy, we decided to be greedy. Now that energy isn’t so cheap anymore, we’re gonna go broke because the infrastructure will be too expensive to maintain and the average auto-slave greedhead (and quite a few others who simply had no other real estate product options when they bought) will go bankrupt filling their tank.
Repeat after me. Greed is not good.
August 7th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Overconsumption goes hand in hand with greed. They are the same thing.
If you overconsume, you get fat. If you don’t find moderation or discipline, you die young.
If you overconsume your fiscal budget, you go without some necessity in the future.
If you overconsume your fuel, it gets scarce and expensive.
If you overconsume your land because you build for cars rather than people, you lose your farmland, bankrupt yourself in infrastructure maintence costs, make your children sedentary, lonely, and depressed, and leave the world worse off for you descendents.
It’s all linked together. Greed is not good.
I’ll stop before I sound too much Aesop’s fables.
August 7th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Chigans, I don’t know how to say this without offending, but the simple fact is the “what is it that I want” attitude is what makes capitalistic countries great while the “what can we all live with” attitude makes socialistic countries not.
If you’re going to make an attempt at saying it without offending, spell my name correctly.
But from there, I disagree, it is neither simple, nor is it a fact. The French work less hours, have more sex, eat better food, and enjoy better art than we do. German prisoners get 4 more weeks of vacation that the average “free” American. And let’s not start with the Swedish and their spas and their blonde goddesses carrying swords and riding armored polar bears.
It’s not greed that makes these countries great, it’s the tempering of that greed in the interest of making living together a better deal for everyone. Capitalism and Socialism don’t have to exist mutually exclusively of one another.
If you’re talking about the former Soviet Union, which is now a capitalist’s paradise and still sucks, or China, which has had the highest annual growth rate in the world for over a decade now, you’re thinking of authoritarianism. That does make a country suck, and our country is increasing our relative level of that.
Cheers.