A
residential area is a
land
use in which
housing predominates, as
opposed to
industrial and
commercial areas.
Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential
areas. These include
single family
housing,
multiple family
housing such as (
apartments,
duplexes,
townhomes (or
similar configurations),
condominium) or
mobile homes. Zoning for residential use may
permit some services or work opportunities or may totally exclude
business and industry. It may permit
high density land use or only permit
low density uses. Residential
zoning usually includes a smaller FAR (floor to area ratio) than
business, commercial or industrial/manufacturing zoning.The area
may also be large or small.
In certain residential areas, largely
rural,
quite large tracts of land may exist which have no services
whatsoever. Because a large distance must be traveled to access the
nearest services, most journeys involve using a motor vehicle or
some other form of transport. This need has resulted in Residential
land development usually existing
or planned infrastructure such as rail and road. The pattern of
development is usually set forth in the
restrictive covenants contained in the
deeds to the properties in the development, but
may also result from or be reinforced by
zoning. Restrictive covenants are not easily changed
as the agreement of all property owners (many of whom may not live
in the area) may need to be obtained to effect a change. The area
may also be large or small.
Residential differentiation
These are some of the various zones under which residential areas
fall.
Residential development
Residential development is
real estate development for
residential purposes. Some such developments are called a
subdivision),
when the land was
divided into lots
with
houses constructed on each piece of subdivided
land. Such developments became common during
the late nineteenth century, particularly in the form of
streetcar suburbs.
In previous centuries, residential development was mainly of two
kinds. Rich people bought a town lot, hired an architect and/or
contractor, and built a
bespoke house for
their family. Poor urban people lived in
apartment houses built for rental. Single
family houses were seldom built on
speculation, that is for future sale to
residents not yet identified. When cities and the
middle class expanded greatly, a method that
had been rare became commonplace to serve the expanding demand for
home ownership.
After
World War II, the rapidly expanding economies of major cities of
the United States, especially New York City
and Los
Angeles
produced a demand for thousands of new homes, which
was largely met by speculative building. Its large-scale
practitioners, dislking the name of "property speculator" coined a
new name for their activity: "Residential Development". Entire
farms and ranches were developed, often with one individual or
company controlling all aspects of entitlement (permits), land
development (streets and grading), infrastructure (utilities and
sewage disposal), and housing.
Communities like Levittown, Long
Island
or Lakewood south of Los Angeles saw new homes sold
at unprecedented rates—more than one a day. Many techniques
which had made the automobile affordable made housing affordable:
standardization of design and small, repetitive assembly tasks,
advertising, and a smooth flow of capital. Mass production resulted
in a similar uniformity of product, and yet in the uniformity was a
more comfortable lifestyle than cramped apartments in the cities.
With the advent of government-backed mortgages, it could actually
be cheaper to own a house in a new residential development than to
rent.
As with other products,
continual refinements
appeared. Curving streets, greenbelt parks, neighborhood pools, and
community entry monumentation appeared. Diverse floor plans with
differing room counts, and multiple elevations (different exterior
"looks" for the same plan) appeared. Developers remained
competitive with each other on everything, including location,
community amenities, kitchen appliance packages, and price.
Today, a
typical residential development in the United States
might include a slowly winding street, dead-end road, loop road, or cul-de-sac lined with related homes. Many
residential developments have purposefully
meandering roads as a means of discouraging speeding automobiles in
the neighborhood.
They help
form the stereotypical image of a "suburban America,"
and are generally associated with the American middle-class. Some residential
developments can be reserved only to the most wealthy, including
gated communities with
multimillion-dollar homes.
Problems with Residential Developments
Criticisms of residential developments may include:
- They do not mesh well with the greater community. Some are
isolated, with only one entrance, and therefore are connected with
the rest of the community in few ways.
- Being commuter towns, they serve
no more purpose for the greater community than other specialized
settlements do. Whereas other planned developments take into
consideration their relation to the rest of community, including
commercial centers, population centers, and other aspects of
community planning, residential developments are often seen as
serving no purpose other than housing.
Additional reading
- John A. Kilpatrick, Subdivision Development, (Chicago:
Realtors Land Institute, 1999)
References
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