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Social Capital through the Front Porch
July 30th, 2009 by Morgan Andenas
Like I mentioned in my last post, many people see development possibilities as a good way to invest in, and grow, their towns. So, what makes a new urbanism neighborhood so much better than your standard subdivision? (Find out what Hercules, CA has to say here, and what Stapleton residents think here)
The American front porch was a great tool for encouraging socialization. Families would spend nice evenings on the porch, waving to passing neighbors or offering them a glass of iced tea or lemonade and a chair to sit down in. Before lives were more hectic and evenings were spent at karate practice, people enjoyed a quiet evening together with friends and family. The neighborhood kids would play together on a whim, and not a scheduled play-date.
Many new home buyers remember this care-free aspect of their childhood, and want to give their children the same opportunity. From what I have seen, many members of Gen Y see subdivisions and cul-de-sacs as idealistic and sterile places with no real character. These subdivisions are based on the car with large garages dominating the streetscape, wide roads to accommodate those cars, and are located far from work and shopping, making the car a necessity in all daily tasks.
New urbanism neighborhoods are no longer based on the car in the garage, and instead are focused on the people in the homes. Lots are set up “long and skinny,” encouraging homeowners to locate the garage at the back of their property, with access from the shared alley. Roads are narrower to encourage slower traffic, which in turn encourages people to start utilizing the front yard as a safe place to play and the neighborhood a safe place to walk. In these neighborhoods the front porch is making a comeback.
One of the great things about rural communities is that people tend to know and care about their neighbors. When neighborhoods are built in a way that encourages connectivity, neighbors and communities start to reap the benefits. Communities start to build social capital by connecting neighbors to one another. And, as I have discussed before, connecting new people to others in your community is essential in keeping those newcomers in your neighborhoods and happy.
Photo courtesy of Seabrook, WA, another very neat town that was created using New Urbanist principles.
Tags: front porch, new urbanism, social capital
Posted in Community Development, Community Engagement, Housing, Quality of Life, Uncategorized | Comments (
3 )
July 31st, 2009 at 9:01 am
Great post – it is time for people to live with each-other in a community rather than isolated at home pretending to be living in one. The front porch is a great transition between the inside and outside and new traditional developments are taking advantage of that.
Seabrook in Washington is one of the loveliest towns I have seen to do this, and it does it well. Hope to see more developments like this in the future. Sprawl no more!
July 31st, 2009 at 10:33 am
Morgan,
Sounds like you’re making a case that front porches can be “third places”.
July 31st, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Thank you John. I love the piece of your comment where you say the front porch is a great transition space between the public sidewalk and the private home. I completely agree with this statement. To tie this with Mike’s piece, the front porch and yard is that perfect place to great and host people. You are not inviting people into your “safe and private” home, but are still meeting on ground that is considered fairly neutral. I am willing to bet that almost anyone is willing to visit with almost anyone else as long as it is street-side of their front door.
And, I too am a fan of curbing sprawl. As any good farm kid would, I believe that land is better put to use feeding our neighbors than overtaken by unnecessary pavement. Some of the best farmland in the world is currently laying under feet of gravel and asphalt when it could be feeding our people.