Green Building: Going…Going…Green!

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III. HomeTown

HomeTown will have about 1100 homes in 8 distinct neighborhoods on 150 acres of former cornfield. It is in the City of Aurora about 30 miles west of downtown Chicago. All homes are detached, except for some that are attached at the garage. The price range is $100,000 to $300,000.

We opened our models four years ago and HomeTown has 500 sales. HomeTown is currently selling at and annualized rate of 150 homes per year.

We try to think of HomeTown through the eyes of a resident rather than through the eyes of a planner. A resident's interests radiate outward from his home to the street to the neighborhood.

The primary spheres of shared human activity in HomeTown are first the homes, then the typical Mini Neighborhood, then the Neighborhood with its Neighborhood Street, Neighborhood Park, and the corner store and café, then the public parks, and then the Village Center and school. Each sphere of activity is connected with pedestrian ways to the next larger sphere of activity. Pocket Neighborhoods are connected to each other as well as to the Neighborhood Park by oversized 6'-wide public sidewalks. Neighborhoods are likewise connected to the Public Parks. Each sphere of shared human activity and their connections provide for the most important element of any Neighborly Neighborhood--freedom and mobility for children and old people without dependence on the automobile (which they can't use themselves) along with the opportunity for children and old people to interact everywhere all the time.

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