​I recently discovered that in my town there are a handful of neighborhood developments with an inverted cul-de-sac. Residents were talking about it in a local social group online because it’s been built in a peculiar and unconventional way. The neighborhood has a cul-de-sac but it’s an undrivable street and the houses are accessed via an alleyway. The company doing the development apparently built non-functioning roads for emergency access only, but they weren’t built to handle daily traffic.

People were complaining that there were giant boulders blocking the roads and posted pictures of signs saying “No Vehicles Permitted” and were questioning what was even the point. Residents of those streets commented that it was purposefully done by the HOA and that they’ve had neighborhood block parties and kids can ride their bikes without worrying about traffic. A number of people who don’t live there were complaining about the situation, but the neighborhood residents themselves had mixed feelings about the layout.

Some disliked that the HOA fines them if they park on the street in front of their house. One homeowner claimed that she and her neighbors would prefer for the HOA to just pave it properly for vehicles, but another neighbor claimed he was a member of the HOA board and that most owners are happy with it being a car-free zone. Apparently the builders of several of the homes mentioned that a playground or other community features would be going in later (which never happened). It seems as though the cul-de-sacs weren’t initially intended to be paved but because mortgage companies were refusing to back the loans they put a paved road in.
​

I never thought that making floor-plans would be a fun brain puzzle until I found the tiny house movement. For tinies, there are certain rules that make for better plans. (Mostly because you’re trying to condense an entire living space into such small footprint) For houses that fit into a microvillage, I’ve found there are a slightly different set of rules that will make for the best plans. None is these are hard and fast, but for the most part considering them seriously and finding a good enough reason to disregard them before doing so has been my rule of thumb. As an artist, I was taught, ‘you have to learn the rules before you break them.’ Roughly, for a microvillage floor-plans, they include: orientation of access, views, compatibility with aging, clustering of public and private rooms, energy efficiency, and guest accommodation.

Compatibility with Aging
The central idea of the microvillage is to anchor yourself to your support network. In order to remain there, keeping a floorplan that accommodates future needs would ease the inevitable transition into old age. This might include a floorplan with at least one first floor bedroom and full bath, handicap accessibility, and open floor plan. Other considerations (not strictly floor-plan related) would be no deep shelves, twist free faucets and lever door handles, as well as slip resistant flooring. For more ideas in this topic, search for universal design standards.

Clustering of Public and Private Rooms
Placing the public rooms nearest to the common green and the private rooms tucked away so that social and private lives can thrive without intersecting. I’m an introvert and when I read the idea of this in the designs for pocket neighborhoods it was totally a no-brainer but something I hadn’t realized the beauty of. (This is one rule you won’t find me breaking!)

Additionally, researching energy efficient building products and what your climate’s greatest challenges are and how to overcome them. For cold-climate houses having a squarish shape and a central fireplace so heat isn’t lost to the outside is one idea, whereas for warmer climates, having an east-west facing house with mostly north facing windows and porches to shade all west, south, and east facing windows from direct sunlight (and heat). Another strategy is to have symmetrical windows on both sides of the house that can all be opened to capitalize on cross breezes. Look into not only the most cutting edge house building techniques for zero energy homes but also strategies builders used on older houses before the invention of air conditioning. (Transom windows above doors, an outdoor kitchen, etc)

Guest Accommodation We have out of state friends and family and if you’re like us in that regard you might already be planning for guest accommodations anyway. Beyond those reasons though, by its nature, the microvillage is about gathering like minded people and you may wish to host a friend, couple, or family who is transitioning to your neighborhood. Or perhaps you will meet up with someone who wants to live there seasonally from time to time. Having planned the ability to accommodate them for longer term stays without inconvenience to you may be worth considering.

Microvillages come in all styles and varieties, but one type of house that finds a special place within the microvillage vision is the tiny house. This is because in choosing it, tiny house owners have chosen what is essential. I've written and re-written the intro to this one several times. Mostly because until you realize this concept, it’s hard to convince anyone of it, but once you've accepted the premise, it makes perfect sense. It is this: the best house for a microvillage is a "just right" sized one.  At the heart of it, it’s about knowing yourself and what a "just right" sized house means for you, but I am willing to bet, for most people, just right is actually smaller than you think.

Also, as an aside before we really dig into this, when most people think, “tiny house” they are talking about less than 400 square feet of living space. By including modestly sized homes in this discussion (approximately 1,000 sf or less) we are including families and others who fall into the “smaller than average” living space category but are not technically “tiny” homeowners.

Tiny and modestly sized houses are uniquely compatible for the microvillage layout. The reasons for this are fourfold: (1) The lifestyle of tiny houses and community living go hand in glove (2) Smaller houses tuck in together more seamlessly and don't impose on one another (3) Design considerations that prioritize quality (4) Cost considerations make smaller houses a better option. Is this to say that other houses couldn't be chosen for a place within the microvillage? No, but it's seriously worth considering the merits of smaller homes.

There is a trend afoot for simple living, for minimalizing your life, and for choosing to reduce your consumption and ecological impact. The tiny house movement has been gaining ground for decades, and in all areas of the country, many people are streamlining their lives, drastically reducing their living spaces and asking questions about the stuff of their lives.  Is this useful? Is it beautiful? Is it necessary? Does it bring me joy?

That immediate environment that you surround yourself and your family with deserves at least as much attention as all your interior decorating, planning, and wardrobe selection etc.

Microvillages help collocate those friendships to have the proximity of support that they might otherwise never provide. It is an intentional framework for a better support system, for more local community, and for more present and accessible friendships.
At the same time, living the life of a tiny house owner is about seizing opportunity, taking initiative, and pursuing home ownership on a level that makes sense.  The microvillage is about carving out a better neighborhood, keeping private property in the hands of each resident, and designing spaces that make sense for the people who live there.

One of the primary ideas behind the microvillage is giving everyone as much space as they want/can afford and to make residential densities lower than in suburban tracts and pocket-neighborhood lots. Additionally, giving a feeling of space, of park-like surroundings, even if some residents don't want a large yard to maintain, giving the feeling that they are not packed in on top of one another can be achieved by more modest sized houses. Smaller houses cluster more efficiently without imposition and can give the illusion of nestling together in a cozy way rather than of packing in like sardines.

The same principles that go into designing quality spaces within the home are echoed in the microvillage layout. View, flow, the purpose and use of each space in the house and how all of the design elements interplay within the home are key to shape the life that is lived within its walls. Similarly, in microvillage design, the role of the car is taken from the center and replaced with green spaces, the way in which semi-private areas and the private zones of the neighborhood relate, how the houses and walking paths, visual boundaries, inviting spaces, gardens, and natural growth interplay all speak a language that impact how life is lived.

By starting from the point of asking: what does my family need (in terms of living space), what does our lifestyle require, and proceeding from there, you're able to identify the qualitative goals of your house. Sarah Susanka in her book "Creating the Not So Big House" mentions that in order to find your ideal home, you take your original budget and what you are told you could get for that price in today's market and deliberately choose a house that is about one-third smaller.  Reducing the size gives you more room in your budget to craft the spaces into tailor made, higher quality, and well thought out designs. (This book is one of several that she's written; its brimming with ideas on how to craft those quality spaces.)


Not only would the building costs be lower for a smaller house but so would the living and maintenance costs. The utilities, the tax bill, and homeowner’s insurance would all be relative to the square footage. Modest and tiny houses are more compatible to the sustainability aspect of the microvillage vision as well as being more affordable.

All of the merits of modest and tiny sized homes aside, the best house for a microvillage is the one that best fits you. The one that aligns with your financial situation, family size, personal preferences, and lifestyle. The next post will be on specific design considerations for floor plans that suit the microvillage so stay tuned.

When you begin to articulate a dream as big and as far-fetched as utopian neighborhoods: little, planned, microcosms of vibrant community, you are going to invite thoughtful realists to scream, "Hey!! Hold your horses! How in the [expletive deleted] could this actually happen?!"
 
Microvillages sounded fantastic when I outlined them out for you, right? Who wouldn't want to live there? Well now its time to take it a step further and paint a picture of what the major hurdles would be and how a group could overcome them.
 
That's our first hurdle. Who. Who is your tribe? Who will join you in trailblazing a microvillage? That is the first question.  I am a huge fan of brainstorming and one idea, if you haven't found your tribe yet, is to make a list of 100 of the things that you could find as common ground with other people. Things that you are passionate enough about that you'd want to locate your life around a group of like-minded others.

(If you've never made a list of 100, what you do is take a paper and number it out to 100 and then sit down for at least 20 uninterrupted minutes (or until you finish the list- but the key is to do it in one sitting) and write out every possible idea. Usually, the first 10 are well thought out and obviously good ideas, and by 40 or 50 your hitting the stupid ideas, but your pressed to think of SOMETHING to write down, and then, you push through and make it to 100 and somewhere in the 60-80 range you find a little piece of gold that becomes the actual solution to your brainstorming question.) Its an awesome technique, and once you figure out your common ground, make an effort to seek out people who are also as passionate about that one thing as you are.
 
Places that might help are local clubs and organizations (tiny house clubs, garden clubs, fishing and wildlife clubs, bird-watching clubs, musical theater groups, rotary, lions club, artists guild, running club, sports club, a club of professionals in your field), church groups (maybe even churches you've never outreached to but who have an active community life and/or social opportunities), community service groups (habitat for humanity, soup kitchen, check out online networking for volunteer groups like Volunteer Match) often times you can find groups that meet at your library (check their calendar of events). You might be able to find a local Facebook group of people to connect with, or meetup.com might be an option for networking with like-minded others. At the very least, doing this first step might bring you into new friendships with people who share your passions and hobbies, even if you never build your microvillage.
 
But let's say you find people that you click with, or you have a tight group of friends already, or a large family that is close-knit that might be on board with the idea. The next step is the pitch. They probably have never thought about a microvillage. The normal course of events is to arrive at adulthood in one way or another (you graduate, you get married, you land that job you've been chasing) and find a home to start out on your own. You think of "must haves" in terms of bedrooms/bathrooms/ square footage/yard size and location but you don't think beyond that into the realm of planning your own neighborhood. Figure out a way to bring it up in conversation. "Hey, Aunt Mabel, this might sound crazy but I came across this idea the other day and I can't stop thinking about it!"

Once you present the vision of the microvillage, if you have people who's response is "YES", then you proceed to the next step. (okay there is kind of a sub-step here, but asssuuuming you all live relatively nearby, finding a job for so-and-so won't be an issue, but if that is, you have to find a mutual location where all of y'all can find good jobs- or work from home jobs, or accept a longer commute) The next step is what I would call "vision building" where you decide to commit and you move in the direction of, what does this mean for each of us, what can we contribute towards setting up such a venture, and what is our vision; what do we want out of this endeavor? That answer is going to vary WIDELY. Every step after the first step of finding people is probably going to vary widely because the personalities, personal preferences, resources, family structures, incomes, and lifestyles will vary. But if you are all committed to moving forward, its just a matter of communicating where you are coming from and then together coming up with a plan for where you are going with this.
 
Let's say you have 6 young families who are on board, two empty nesters, one set of elderly grandparents, and two college students. You're actually in an awesome starting point because you have a variety of inputs, physical resources, financial resources, and varied life experiences to draw on. You have the energy and hopefulness of the younger generation, and the lived experience and wisdom from the older. You have families with concerns for children and priorities for their environment as well as thoughtfulness towards how the neighborhood will be as you age into it. The more diverse and varied the ages and backgrounds are of the individuals on board the richer the experience will be and the more resilient. (If you are all a certain way with identical resources then you're going to hit hurdles where none of you will have an advantage; variety and difference provide strength and benefit)

 You're going to draft ideas for a layout. Who wants acreage? Who wants a low maintenance yard? How big do we want the center green to be? What kinds of semi-private spaces? What kind of community buildings? How big should the buffer edge be? Should there be orchards? Fields? Forest? How much acreage total will be necessary?
 
You'll need to research zoning codes and town by-laws. Which towns and counties have fewer restrictions? Would it be better to be within or outside a certain municipal district? Which areas have affordable land prices? What are the taxes like? Town and county  websites are a good place to start for this.

If you have one member who can be the benefactor to get the project through the initial launch then you're ahead of the game. But lets say that you're all middle-class, average income earners, in varying stages of debt and home ownership. The next step once you settle on priorities and firming up your vision will be drafting out a budget and a phased plan for making this happen. Perhaps someone in your group is an accountant, but if not, you still need to crunch numbers and timelines to come up with a plan and how it will progress. There are tools that can be used in this process. One is an open source app called cobudget which is a methodology for collaborative decision-making around money.
 
Draw up contracts, get it in writing, perhaps even divide up the ownership in phases. (certain families will own a larger percent of the microvillage to start with because they are supplying the initial funding, but they can sell off their shares to other families at a certain later point) You'll also draft a mission statement, community vision, and land covenant documents. Create a Home Owners Association (or HOA) and determine the guidelines, fees and conflict resolution that it will operate by.

One example might be: The Smiths, Martinezes and Marshalls put their current homes on the market. They use the money gained from their sales into an account that is used to put a down payment on the land, finance the surveying, subdivision, and initial infrastructure development. The Smiths will move into the house that's on the property and the Martinezes will put a single-wide on the property while the Marshalls will rent nearby. The microvillage layout will be tweaked and adapted to accommodate the actual landscape of the property.

The group will get the potential parcels perked, home sites determined, land subdivided, (and sold to other members, thereby paying the initial three families back). They will pull all the building permits, planning board approvals, and take care of all necessary legal groundwork.  If terraforming is necessary to put in the roads, utilities, light posts, sidewalks, and prep for home sites then it's done. All the families begin building their homes, and as they are completed, move in and start living the dream.
 
Is it a logistical undertaking of epic proportions? Yes. Would the outcome be equally as epic? Who's to say it wouldn't be? 

The thing is, there are so many potential avenues of approach to creating a microvillage. The description above is just one possible way.

Is Dave a Lawyer? He can draft all the legal documents. The covenants, the contracts, the protections for individuals if certain things turned pear shaped or take longer than projected. Does Mark own a septic company and can get septic systems installed at cost? Does he have relationships with members of the planning board? Is Sharon a realtor? Does she have her thumb on the rural property market? Or can she use her network to start monitoring opportunities that come up? Can she help other members sell their homes? Have Cindy and Steve saved up a down payment and have a sizeable amount of cash that could go towards all the up front costs? If one of the members is really good with numbers they can help find a way forward with the budget. If one is really on the ball with note-taking then they can transcribe all the meetings and make quick work of drawing mission statements and guiding documents into writing. In all of this if each member contributes from their strengths and abundance, they are building community through undertaking the project and they are constructing a purposeful neighborhood for their future life. 
 
Other avenues of approach might be that one family funds the entire initial outlay. They buy the property, subdivide it according to plan and sell each parcel to the other members. Or perhaps a developer gets an idea to build a microvillage, or a series of microvillages and finances them upfront and sells them off. (This avenue of approach gets tricky in what makes for a cohesive neighborhood and how that vision would hold together, but its one option that has certain merits.)
 
I hope this layer of the thought experiment hasn't been too daunting, but rather, shines a light on the reality  - that self-designing and developing a microvillage certainly isn't for the faint of heart.  What worthy endeavor is though?
 
If you'd like it, here's a free summary checklist for planning your microvillage. It has a lot of these thoughts on the steps towards a microvillage distilled down.

We began sketching different ways to integrate these semi-private spaces into neighborhoods and arrived at what we now refer to as the microvillage theory (or microvillage for short). In essence, there is an inner common green space which is surrounded by walking paths, and then private house lots, which are bordered by a ring road. Then beyond the ring road there are usually open spaces or extensions of the private properties, going up to a wild or planned natural border edge that follows the perimeter of the microvillage.  This layout was influenced by pocket neighborhoods and the spatial arrangement of the garden city (but not its scale) and is also referred to as an inverted cul-de-sac (because it flips the traditional neighborhood center from being a paved and car dominated one to being a natural and livable space). Christopher Alexander, who we stumbled upon later, was talking about similar ideas in the 1970's in his work, A Pattern Language. (You can access a free full text copy here.) ​

The microvillage is a vision that blends the idea of an intentional community and the primacy of private property.  On the spectrum of traditional neighborhood (exclusively private property connected by public property)  to commune (entirely composed of communally owned property) the microvillage lies somewhere in the middle depending upon what the desires of it's residents are. There is flexibility with ownership, but the basic model is that the individual house lots are owned by residents and the semi-private areas are co-owned and managed through a homeowners association of sorts. ​

I didn’t know until a few weeks ago that pocket neighborhoods had a direct historical precedent. A design that closely parallels the pocket neighborhood was a trend termed the “bungalow court” and it emerged in the early 1900s.  The house I grew up in, as well as the first home my husband and I purchased were Craftsman Bungalows both built in the early 1920s. Its crazy to me how much life echoes and dovetails and circles back on itself, but needless to say, bungalows are a house style that charm the pants off me, and that I’m only realizing all these little connections now, is beyond super cool to me.

This book of floorplans by Gustav Stickley I should probably just buy for myself because I’ve borrowed it from our old library probably 5 or 6 different times. I love looking at the floorplans and the styling of the craftsman movement, and similar to village layouts, designing floorplans is my own little puzzle game I like to play.

What came between these two movements and why people are cycling back toward an intentionally close but detatched housing situation is worth considering.  Some voices in our society today are drawing attention to the fact that there is a housing opportunity gap, termed the Missing Middle, where between mid-rise apartments and detatched single family homes there are a range of housing options that would contribute to a walkable urbanism that just aren’t being built enough to meet the housing needs of the current demographics.

 Pocket neighborhoods were one of the seed ideas that developed into the microvillage design. Ross Chapin, architect and designer, coined the term in the mid-nineties. If this term is new to you, you can find out a wealth of information on his website.

​He's also written a book, Pocket Neighborhoods: Creating Small-Scale Community in a Large-Scale World.

​

 But essentially it is a neighborhood design that nestles houses together around semi-private courtyard or garden space in order to increase community

​ Microvillages and pocket neighborhoods share many common traits: removing the primacy of the car, increasing community interaction, common green spaces, prioritizing privacy, and creating intentional and secluded neighborhoods. They part ways in matters of scale, density, accessibility, and the integration of residential and small business spaces.

The pocket neighborhood has a max capacity of 8-12 homes. Beyond this multiple clusters can be designed to pocket near one another but they are more or less distinct from each other. The microvillage could be a pocket neighborhood, or it could become very close to being its own village. Larger microvillages may be made up of smaller clusters, but still are united by one central village green.

 Microvillages prioritize agricultural spaces and sustainable capacities when possible. Pocket neighborhoods are denser neighborhoods with heightened design considerations to maintain privacy (I.e. north facing walls have windows and south facing have high windows and/or skylights so the houses can be clustered very closely).

​Pocket neighborhoods frequently have parking spaces away from residences while the microvillage is based off an inverted cul-de-sac. (Houses are clustered around a common green rather than a paved circle or street) Every house has road access, it is just on the exterior of the neighborhood instead of the center. 

 The microvillage is like a tiny village, and some designs include clustered areas for small businesses. There would never be a Walmart, but there may be a row of shopfronts. There might be a grocer, a library, and a laundromat, a cafe, and a bed and breakfast. Whereas the pocket neighborhood is strictly a residential "neighborhood within a neighborhood." ​

​Microvillages and pocket neighborhoods are both exciting and novel improvements on the traditional neighborhood model of the past century. They both hearken back to neighborhood arrangements of previous eras (more on this to follow!) and at the same time, push forward and help us to consider, how might our spaces be better organized to serve the people who live there?