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Monday, September 11, 2006

Old styles liven new neighborhoods

David Wamsley
From the Tallahassee Democrat

Re: "Craftsman style is back in new homes" (news article Sept. 7).

It was great to see an article about the resurgence of craftsman-style homes. Just take a look at some of Tallahassee's oldest neighborhoods: Los Robles, Old Town/Lafayette Park, Myers Park. These neighborhoods are treasured for the ability to reconnect us to a simpler time.

Tallahassee is seeing a resurgence of nostalgic styles in new construction as well, a perfect fit for urban infill in established neiborhoods. Drive through Genevieve Place off Morningside Drive and you will find a vibrant front-porch community of 16 cottages and bungalows. Neigbors are walking, kids are playing outside, and everyone knows each other by name.

On a larger scale, the idea of creating such intimacy in new developments is also catching on. If we plan appropriately, it is possible to create diverse, walkable, compact, mixed-use communities that evoke an era of a time past. Good place-making can translate that into neighborhoods that enrich, uplift and inspire the human spirit.