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TOWN HOUSES IN TROUBLE
<br />In their original configuration, town houses
<br />could be summed up simply as attached
<br />single-family dwellings. They were no differ-
<br />ent in relation to the public streetthan the
<br />single-family houses, flats, or commercial
<br />buildings with which they mixed. Their ga-
<br />rages (or stables), ifthey had [hem, were
<br />detached and faced the alley. They had
<br />small backyards, and most had small front
<br />yards or stoops, as well.
<br />In the town house developments in
<br />Chicago ofthe i99os (as in many othercit-
<br />ies, we suspect), things changed. In larger
<br />:projects (these that occurred on former
<br />industrial or railroad sites), for every one
<br />row of town houses that lined the streets,
<br />another one, two, orthree rows might have
<br />no frontage on a public right-of-way. Ofien
<br />even the town houses that faced the streets
<br />would not have entrances off of them, nor
<br />any major living spaces overlooking them.
<br />On smaller lots, two facing rows of
<br />town houses would be squeezed in with
<br />minimal separationspace, often with blank
<br />end walls facing the street. On corner tots,
<br />the garage doors would line the sidewalk-
<br />an endless sea of blankness and curb
<br />cuts-while the "front-door" entrances
<br />would be sequestered to a side yard. Pri-
<br />vate car courts lacked trees, walkways, and
<br />pedestrian doors that would have afforded
<br />neighbors a casual place to meet, butthey
<br />did have plenty of pavement and garbage
<br />cans through which drivers were required
<br />to navigate.
<br />A fewvery expensive town house de-
<br />velopmentshad sufficiently.largeprivate
<br />yards, setbacks that matched the neigh-
<br />boyhood, common green space, and even
<br />landscaped and decoratively paved car
<br />courts that kids could play in. But woe to
<br />the average project, which typically had
<br />small, unusable yards or no yards at all,
<br />minimal setbacks, inadequate landscaping,
<br />and no common open space whatsoever.
<br />And woe to its neighbors: It seemed as
<br />though most ofthe developers' attention,
<br />once they had squeezed the maximum
<br />Suddenly a familiar,
<br />urban, low--scale
<br />residential building
<br />type that encouraged
<br />interaction between
<br />pedestrians and
<br />residents was facing
<br />inward, turning its back
<br />on the neighborhood.
<br />number of units arid parking spaces from
<br />their site, was given toward luxury interior
<br />finishes, tall ceilings, and "media rooms."
<br />There appeared to be little concern forthe
<br />neighbors ness of the new town houses.
<br />Suddenly a familiar, urban, low-scale
<br />residential build ing type. that encouraged
<br />interaction between pedestrians and resi-
<br />dentswas facing inward, turning its back
<br />on the neighborhood. What could explain
<br />this? Had architects forgotten how to de-
<br />signforthecommunityaswellasforthe .
<br />client? Had developers become so greedy
<br />that th ey were blind to the unpleasant en-
<br />vironments they were creating? Were town
<br />house buyers tdo anxious about finding the
<br />"right" location versus [he "right" project?
<br />Had city planners been too accommodating
<br />to the developers? Was our dependence on
<br />cars to blame? Were these problems merely
<br />unfortunate lapses in design and plan-
<br />ning, orwere they indicative of, or even
<br />contributing to, an alarming decline in civic
<br />engagement?
<br />CHICAGO INCHES TOWARD DESIGN
<br />REGULATIONS
<br />We couldn't definitively answer those ques-
<br />tions (though we did have our opinions),
<br />but we could try to stem the tide of bad
<br />town house design. Up until this point,
<br />Chicago had no design regulations and
<br />no design review, except for designated
<br />landmarks and planned developments.
<br />Neighborhood groups had been filling in
<br />the void, often forming in reaction to some
<br />egregious development.
<br />The only chance forthe Department
<br />of Planning and Development orfor neigh-
<br />bors to have ahy input on most new town
<br />house construction was before the Zoning
<br />Board of Appeals (ZBA), where smaller
<br />projects landed because they needed a
<br />variance for side yards. (Larger town house
<br />projects were reviewed as planned devel-
<br />opments.) But in reality there was no relief
<br />forthe neighbors' concerns at the ZBA.
<br />When these projects came up fora hear-
<br />ing, neighbors would come to argue that
<br />ZONINGPRACTICE z.io
<br />AMERICAN PIANNING ASSOCIATION PO9e3 C O
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