Very last-minute, I got word that CNU Miami was presenting a Strong Towns Curbside Chat on Saturday afternoon.  I attended and was inspired.  Charles Marohn spoke about how the late 20th century pattern of development, particularly infrastructure, does not pay for itself.  Download the Curbside Chat booklet here.

Among the discussion of infrastructure, Charles had a few slides about what kind of buildings generate more property tax per acre and requires less infrastructure.  No surprise: 6-story, mixed-use, urban development generates 100 times the property tax per acre of a big box retail store.  The slides, above, were made by collaborator Joseph Minicozzi of Urban 3 in Asheville, NC.  Recent article including slides here, and video of Joseph speaking at UM last year here.

“The design also attempts to enable income generation through accommodating rental rooms, retail and small business enterprise.  In addition ground floors are conceived as flexible spaces accommodating both trade and/or residential use.  Circulation and services are positioned in such a way as to provide for these diverse occupation scenarios.  This allows for economic development over time, especially along busy routes.

“Houses are located close to the street boundary to create a sense of urbanity, surveillance, ease of trading and to limit the amount of unusable space between units.  The increased densities also achieve the necessary thresholds for the efficient provision of public transport and economic opportunities.  Both the Vertical Yard and the 14x7m Row House offer two different approaches to achieve growth over time and a mix of uses and economies.”  Full page with images here.

From the write-up about 26’10 South’s proposal included in the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum’s Design Other 90 Network: “The proposed housing types incorporate dynamic aspects of the informal city, such as flexibility and growth.  The increase in density allows the units to be larger by saving money on land cost, infrastructure, and services.”

Design Other 90 Network is an ”open-network database” and  ”social-media platform that invites everyone to:

• Share vital design resources for developing and emerging economies.
• Connect with stakeholders in the fields of design, architecture, sustainability, humanitarian aid, and more.
• Engage a broad international audience in developing solutions for those living in poverty.”

The report is copy protected, so I’ll respect that.  But from Real Deal writer Adam Fusfeld: “Sales activity increased 22 percent between 2010 and 2011 to 240 transactions, the highest total since the credit crunch. But Miller said it’s about on point with the 10-year average of 250 sales.  A decade’s worth of data show a 112 percent increase, according to Miller, because there’s so little new construction in the townhouse market.  In fact, the townhouse stock is so old that the average townhouse sold during the decade was built in 1908.

“‘The numbers make the case for a long-term view of housing,’ he said. ‘Real estate professionals lost their way, viewing it as a short-term investment. As an asset it’s slow-moving, but we had a different standard during the boom of double-digit price increases and that’s the wrong approach.  Property shouldn’t be considered a liquid asset like a stock.’”

From Crain’s writer Amanda Fung: “The median sale price dipped 5.1% to about $3.7 million last year, while the average sales price slid 9.4% to roughly $5 million. The decline was largely a result of a steep rise in sales of three-to-five-family houses, which represented 38.3% of all sales last year, compared to 22.3% in 2010.  Mr. Miller attributed the increase in sales of this house type to a boom in the rental market, which is emboldening some buyers of three-to-five-family houses.  Those three-to-five-family houses also tend to be smaller in size than single-family houses. Over the last decade, single-family homes averaged 4,837 square feet and three-to-five-family houses average 4,420 square feet.

“Despite the dip in prices last year, townhouse prices have handily outpaced the overall residential market in terms of price growth this past decade. Townhouse median sales prices have more than doubled since 2002, while median sales prices in Manhattan overall have risen 89% to $850,000.”  (Photo credit: Buck Ennis.)

“We have some ideas, at least, for how the fabric or texture of cities might be conserved or created to encourage a livable urban environment.  There are five physical characteristics that must be present if there is to be a positive response to the goals and values we believe are central to urban life: livable streets and neighborhoods; some minimum density of residential development as well as intensity of land use; an integration of activities — living, working, shopping — in some reasonable proximity to each other; a manmade environment, particularly buildings, that de- fines public space (as opposed to buildings that, for the most part, sit in space); and many, many separate, distinct buildings with complex arrangements and relationships (as opposed to few, large buildings).”

Did they say many, separate, distinct buildings are required for a “livable” (I’m not a fan of the word) urban environment?  Yes, and to elaborate: “Diversity, the possibility of intimacy and confrontation with the unexpected, stimulation,are all more likely with many buildings than with few taking up the same ground areas.  For a long time we have been led to believe that large land holdings were necessary to design healthy, efficient, aesthetically pleasing urban environments.

“Architects of both ideological persuasions promulgated or were easily convinced of the wisdom of land assembly.  It’s not hard to figure out why.  The results, whether by big business or big government, are more often than not inward-oriented, easily controlled or controllable, sterile, large-building projects, with fewer entrances, fewer windows, less diversity, less innovation, and less individual expression than the urban fabric that existed previously or that can be achieved with many actors and many buildings.

“With smaller buildings and parcels, more entrances must be located on the public spaces, more windows and a finer scale of design diversity emerge.  A more public, lively city is produced.  It implies more, smaller groups getting pieces of the public action, taking part, having a stake.  To keep public frontages alive, free from the deadening effectsof offices and banks, small buildings will help more than large ones. There need to be large buildings, too, but they will be the exception, not the rule.”  Full essay here.

Todd defines affordable-accessible housing as “lower-priced apartments, townhouses, duplexes, small-lot single-family and accessory suites located in neighborhoods with shops, schools, healthcare and jobs that are easy to reach by walking, bicycling and public transit”.  Sounds good, let’s keep reading:

“Many current policies and planning practices discourage accessible-affordable housing development. These include restrictions on building height, density and type; generous minimum parking requirements; and fees and taxes structured to favor fewer, more expensive units.

“There are many possible ways to increase housing and transportation affordability, but some are better than others because they reduce rather than shift costs, and support other strategic objectives such as reducing vehicle traffic and sprawl.

“Some relatively modest policy reforms can greatly improve affordability and accessibility, and therefore the lives of physically and economically disadvantaged people. These include changes to zoning codes to allow more diverse housing types, reduced parking requirements, improving walking and cycling conditions, and improved public transit service.”  Full paper here.

“No one knows exactly when the first building in this style was constructed, but old photographs from the reign of King Rama V (1853-1910) show that it was already well established by then.  The shop-house was a place for a family to both live and do business, using the front of the building for trading and the remainder, including the upper floor, as their private home.

The floor plans of all these shop-houses are very similar: five metres wide but as much as 50 metres long, creating a very spacious living space for an entire family.  Across the front of each, along the edge of the street, is an arcade, offering shade and shelter to the public.  Behind this, the house is usually divided into four parts.  There is a living room for general purposes and for receiving guests, followed by a central space, open to the sky, with a well.  At the rear is the kitchen.  Upstairs is the family’s private area and bedrooms.

“In the old days, the central open area was often the heart of the house.  It was here that you would find the women of the house chatting while cooking or doing the washing.  It was also, in a sense, the lungs of the house, allowing air to flow through, even in the hottest month.  Also contributing to the cool atmosphere were the thick, solidly-built walls.”

“‘Originally in an old brownstone there would have been a parlor-floor balcony,’ Mr. Peterson said of the retractable living-room wall. ‘This is reimagining it.’  In order to provide even more open-air space, Mr. Peterson also created a garage-door like windowed back wall between the kitchen and the backyard.”  Full article with photo gallery here, related video here, and post on Curbed with photos and floorplans here.  (Photo credit: Ramsay de Give.)

“I am a Brooklyn-based photographer and would love to photograph the exterior of your home for a photo story referencing the work of Shizuka Yokomizo. In the acknowledgement to Shizuka’s ‘Distance’ piece, the essay places the same amount of emphasis on the design of the home as it does as the participation of the resident. Therefore, I would like to call on you in hopes that you might participate in this feature, to leave your lower level lights on from the hours of 10pm-11pm TONIGHT and arrange the apartment as you would like it to be seen. I would also encourage you to engage in the space or in front of the window if you too would like to be photographed.”  Full article with more photos here.

An interesting reminder of small-scale urban housing’s uneasy relationship with its surrounding urbanity.  However, such friction has in turn produced its own art forms, such as the screen paintings of Baltimore or (my theory) the coveted lace of Belgium, which was hung centuries ago in the ground-floor windows of townhouses in the Low Countries, first for privacy, then as a sign of high class.  A contemporary example of the quest for privacy is the “rain screen” facade designed by architect Peter Gluck for this townhouse in New York.  (Photo credit: Harlan Erskine.)

“Until recently, most of the affordable-housing development activities in Florida focused on single-family homeownership and large tax credit-funded new construction.  However, in Florida alone there are approximately  400,000  units in multifamily developments containing 9 units or fewer, with the average age of this stock being 40 years.  More than 70% of the United States’ affordable housing stock consists of small-scale rental properties.

“The housing bust, combined with the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, has created opportunities for nonprofit developers to acquire and rehab some of these smaller developments, but this business line is not without its challenges.  This two day workshop will provide participants with the information they need to understand the financial challenges surrounding small scale development and how to address them. The training will also provide you with tools to help you understand the market,  as well as  likely  funding sources. We will also dive deep into property and asset management for the owner of small-scale deals.”