Alicia, Courtyard Urbanist
@UrbanCourtyard
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Launching the CIMBY (Courtyard In My Backyard) movement in North America, starting in Chicago.
Chicago
Joined May 2024
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Read about my plan to bring Euro-style courtyard blocks to Chicago to combat the exodus of young families to the suburbs!
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In my dream Chicago courtyard block, I get to play euchre with my friends on a balcony while my kids run around with their friends in the courtyard playground.
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We need courtyard BLOCKS, not courtyard buildings. Courtyard blocks frame an entire city (point access) block with wall-to-wall buildings, built right up to the property line (no set back), so that the interior of the block is a PARK instead a gross alley and garage system
@UrbanCourtyard
These are vastly much larger than the lightwells in 10-12-15 floor buildings designed nowadays.
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Courtyard BLOCKS are not the same as courtyard buildings. The size and scale matters a lot. Courtyard BLOCKS have large parks in the interior.
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How do we stop the exodus of young families from American metro areas?
As recent analyses of census data shows, millennials parents are fleeing the cities they moved to in their 20s and 30s. The main cause? The cost of the aspirational "house with a yard" is prohibitive in the
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“Not a yard” in a Copenhagen courtyard block. I would VASTLY prefer this to my urban SFH yard because a shared courtyard means you can send your little kids to play with friends without having to arrange and supervise a special play date.
@UrbanCourtyard
Courtyard is not a yard.
Need more townhouses with private yards of some sort.
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New Courtyard blocks are being built in European cities (here Berlin) to create family-friendly neighborhoods in the city
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Q: aren’t YIMBYs supposed to prefer stacking units in towers to maximize density?
A: as Jan Sim shows, courtyard blocks offer comparable density to towers, and with much better disposition of units.
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@MilkManMSU
Getting ready for Bayview parade. This place is a time capsule in every respect.
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As long as we’re held hostage to car culture, we might as well hide parking lots on the ground floor, surround them with commercial space, and put the courtyard on top of the parking podium.
Can’t help but think if we had built this today we would’ve required this space to be parking instead…
📍 Boston Public Library
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For this Friday’s courtyard posting, we travel again to Prague, because I have discovered the “immersive view” in google maps.
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In high-trust societies (Northern Europe), courtyards are often shared by the block residents. The courtyard is not divided and parceled out to individual ground floor units …
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I tell my husband all the time that, if I can persuade a developer to build this, we are selling our lovely SFH and moving into a corner unit of the first North American courtyard block.
Q: Courtyard blocks in America sound great, except where do we put the cars?
A: The courtyard is on first floor and rests on ground floor parking garage and waste management (enclosed with commercial store fronts).
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Truly, Suburbanites can have bonfires in their backyards whenever they want, but they can’t walk their kids to school and grab a dozen eggs and a coffee on the way home. Again, living within walking distance of your children’s school is the biggest quality of life bump you get.
@UrbanCourtyard
It has nothing to do with low trust. I have my own yard so I have space to do what I want whenever I want
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As
@OldUrbanist
pointed out in an old blog post, the tall and thin courtyard blocks of Berlin provide greater density AND more outdoor space and ventilation/natural light.
Meanwhile, the thick and squat apartment blocks of Brooklyn have greater lot coverage, but inferior use of
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I agree with you, and argue all the time with my suburban relatives that it is more likely that they will die in a car crash (owing to the high car miles/week rate) than that I will be gunned down in "Chiraq."
However, we can build courtyard blocks as a means of addressing
Odds of a child getting kidnapped are ~1 in a million.
Odds of a child born in 2021 dying in a traffic crash are ~1 in 93.
Parents act like these stats are reversed. Paranoid about rare kidnappings and naive about the common driving.
(Natl Safety Council tracks this stuff)
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The American Courtyard Block solution is putting a parking lot on the ground floor, framed by commercial spaces. The first floor courtyard will rest on top of the parking podium.
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Saturday mornings in my dream Chicago courtyard block, I get to have coffee and laptop time on my balcony overlooking a car-free park where my little kids play with friends.
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No, this is an ancient urban block technology that puts families in close proximity to a large, private yard AND all the amenities of the dense city center.
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“If we build it, they will come.”
Millennials parents will stay in the city and raise their kids in courtyard blocks if we build them.
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I gave Midjourney a recent image of the 2500 block of W. Lawrence (left) and asked it to imagine the street developed with six-story, mixed-use Berlin-style courtyard blocks but with traditional Chicago architecture.
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@hemuphobia
She’s trolling you. Devon st is southern boundary of only far north side neighborhood with a crime problem
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@CompletedStreet
In traditional courtyard blocks, you send your kid downstairs to get eggs from the grocer who occupies the storefront in the same block development. They don't even cross the street.
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The Golden Age of semi-automated stone carving is coming. Get ready for Cicada Plague architectural friezes like this one adorning the entrance to your new Chicago courtyard building.
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I want to know how often laws/regulations actually get in the way of good development initiatives.
I met with my US Congressman yesterday to talk about the courtyard block vision, and he was like “let’s do this, we might have to work with the city to make some zoning
People have made plenty of pleasant places over the centuries, often spontaneously.
Now we have regulations and laws prohibiting this kind of urbanism.
Absurd
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Architects, what is this facade material ??is this too stucco that is contoured to look like stone ?? Love the sage and mustard paint
Prague shows how courtyard blocks can be independently developed by many different builders, each doing a five-story building on the property line, and conjoining building side walls so that, when all lots are built, a courtyard forms.
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In my 20s, I lived in a courtyard block in Florence, Italy, when I au paired for a family there. They had this amazing family-forward lifestyle in the middle of the city.
Now i have my own little kids in Chicago, and I have been stewing for a decade over how American cities
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@alixabeth
@nytimes
He’s describing the “labor” she did in making their social life happen. He is not saying she supported his career and maintained their living expenses through her labor.
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People live in the city because they prefer walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods to car-dependent, residential neighborhoods. You can’t have walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods of single family homes. They don’t create the density, the income diversity, and the commercial integration
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@alixabeth
@nytimes
And he’s specifically praising her for her contributions as a mother and grandmother, because she gave birth to and raised children and grandchildren who will outlive his work.
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In Cook County (Chicago), the population of under 5s has fallen 15% since 2020.
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@jax_nope
I agree. My politics is urbanism, and I will support any candidate who runs on a platform of making cities family friendly again
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@maxdubler
The larger footprint of courtyard allows for more easily accessed ground floor units. And courtyard blocks can have buildings with elevators if owners prefer.
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In my neighborhood of Chicago, the population of children has declined *even though* the total population and total housing units have increased.
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@JackChambersGB
This is rustic by the standards of mature European cities. Mature urbanism is 6 stories of mixed use courtyard blocks with monumental public spaces every other block or so.
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This is a poorly designed pseudo courtyard. Double-loaded corridors (look it up if you don’t know) mean that units will face EITHER the street OR the courtyard. No cross ventilation. Half of the units don’t have courtyard access. Shared hallways destroy privacy of entry/exit.
Seattle area's first quad courtyard building in Bothell? it's a unit
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@IDoTheThinking
Every city needs to RFP to developers to build courtyard blocks on distressed commercial corridors near transit. 4-6 stories, mixed use, with massive condos for families on ground floor and penthouse, and small condos for seniors and smaller households in the middle.
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Is this stucco on top??? All the Chicago architects tell me that stucco doesn’t work with modern insulation. What kind of stucco are the Berliners using?
Handsome new apartment building in Berlin.
Following simple principles, timeless beauty can be created.
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@itazurakko999
Garbage will go with parking lot and cars in ground floor parking lot (surrounded by commercial space). First floor courtyard rests on parking podium. The New American Courtyard Block.
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Mixed-use zoning (commercial on bottom, residences on top) is CRITICAL for successful courtyard blocks. Residents benefit by living above or next to a grocer, pharmacy, convenience store, cafe, bodega, etc. And small businesses flourish when their customers are right there.
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@JK99928789839
Exactly! The radical convenience of courtyard blocks means you never have to get in the car for a beer or wine run.
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@OskSta
Interesting. Have you seen the ones in Copenhagen?? I want to live in one like this so badly.
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And, possibly, the Prague families with 3000sqft condos with access to a private courtyard and are steps away from bars, cafes, grocery, kids’ school, library, sushi, church, friends, pharmacy, etc. have nightmares about American suburbs.
@UrbanCourtyard
Um, yeah...
I think I'll stick with my single family Colonial set on two acres in the suburbs.
Thanks for the nightmares, though.
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And then there are low-trust societies, such as the American suburbs, where residents do not share any yard, building, or public space with neighbors.
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UPDATE ... this morning we met with Quigley's Chicago office director, who told us that their office 100% supports redeveloping this site as a courtyard block.
#CIMBYCHICAGO
Alicia Pederson: The courtyard block solution to Chicago’s family flight problem
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@BrentToderian
Agree. Also living within easy walking distance to your kids’ school massively increases your quality of life.
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@Sanilac_J
The picture of rural single families home all signal “you have to get in your car and drive 30 minutes to do ANYTHING”
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RE: making national retailers wishing to do business in the city come up with urban prototypes of their businesses.
we already do this sometimes.
Home Depot in Manhattan occupies the ground floor of a multi story building with no parking apron.
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My hunch is that the community that opposed this “Minecraft” aesthetic apartment complex would have welcomed a mixed-income courtyard block with parking/commercial on the ground floor.
Plans to build a 6-story apartment building on a vacant Rogers Park lot are not moving forward after the alderwoman announced her opposition to the project.
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Agree. A nice transit system depends on compact neighborhoods.
Sprawl not only consumes open space and agriculture, but makes a city virtually impossible to access by transit.
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@Sanilac_J
Traditional courtyard urbanism is best and perhaps only development type that gives families the space and safe yard they need without sacrificing density and commercial convenience.
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Q: Courtyard blocks in America sound great, except where do we put the cars?
A: The courtyard is on first floor and rests on ground floor parking garage and waste management (enclosed with commercial store fronts).
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@JGrantGlover
This is fine. I bet the family who is paying at least $200k for this addition would have preferred a 3000sqft condo in a nice mixed-use courtyard block if we built such things here.
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In the absence of large, family-sized condos with access to a safe yard, the best housing option for large families is a SFH. Rising costs of SFHs in this formerly relatively affordable neighborhood show the growing demand.
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In another great courtyard blog post, Jonathan Konkol shows how the shallow (one unit--no double-loaded corridor) depth of the courtyard block allows for a large courtyard and excellent ventilation.
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A lot of courtyard blocks in southern European cities, such as Barcelona, were lost to historical “urban infill.” This also happened in Copenhagen, but in the late 20th century the city made a concerted effort to clear out the blocks to make them better for families. The new
@UrbanCourtyard
But make sure they won’t get filled with parking and car repair shops like in Barcelona. There there is no park inside of those Barcelona blocks.
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At the request of
@DrewLukacs
, a few thoughts on Helsinki's courtyard blocks, possibly the northernmost exemplar of the perimeter block type.
While many of the old Helsinki courtyards have become parking lots, this ~19th-century courtyard block, next to St. Paul's Lutheran
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@clhubes
lol I have gone through this phase with mine and it’s amazing. Tell me when you get to the paper mache phase at Halloween time
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The Chicago alley system (red) doubles the amount of land area that is for cars
The alley system also prevents residents from using the interior of the blocks as safe yard space.
Converting some alley blocks to courtyard blocks is reasonable.
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@BlockClubCHI
Parking belongs on the ground floor, framed by commercial perimeter space. Do a courtyard on first floor for car-free yard space, and make sure residential includes a MIX of large, luxury condos, medium mid-range condos, and affordable units.
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An account that’s never had to take little kids to school and activities.
The benefit of the city is the proximity to all the places you and your family need to go on a daily basis.
Having your kids walk to school is the highest quality of life bump you get.
@UrbanCourtyard
Cities are nonsensical in this world where most white collar jobs can be done from home.
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@kimberl61322223
Parking goes on ground floor, surrounded by commercial space. First floor Courtyard rests on the parking podium.
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@PaulSkallas
1) do the Japanese and Germans have no interaction anymore? How can anyone think Americans overdo polite business culture when the Japanese still exist?
2) my favorite is when euros aping American manners smile a lot. It shows how boring and uncharismatic their default gestural
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@ballesteros_312
Businesses would be more resilient if they were more plugged into the ground floor of mixed use buildings with all their customers living above and around them. In Japan, they have laundromat cafes so you can hang out and get work done while you wait for your laundry.
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I am here to encourage families to raise large families in the city, and to encourage cities to reorient themselves toward young families.
Remember that, etymologically, you can’t have “civilization” without “civitas” (Latin for “city”/“city-state”). Cities are the cultural,
@UrbanCourtyard
Just found your X account. Awesome. This single account gives me more hope than I’ve had in a long time.
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Prague shows how courtyard blocks can be independently developed by many different builders, each doing a five-story building on the property line, and conjoining building side walls so that, when all lots are built, a courtyard forms.
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@zsbradt
@maxdubler
Families need secure, relatively private space for their kids. This kind of space is uniquely provided by courtyard blocks. Which is why European cities have families living in their centers instead of the burbs.
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Yes, the State Street Target in Chicago is perhaps the best example of national retailers adapting their real estate needs to existing commercial space.
The problem is that the vast majority of Target's other Chicago locations--in neighborhoods where families actually want to
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My kids are fascinated by the deconstructed windmill vanes in this Rotterdam courtyard playground. Also, respect to the photographer who nailed the timing of the tire swing.
@UrbanCourtyard
@InnocuousShark
@EVanDyk
Some solutions for courtyards in an older part of Rotterdam, Netherlands. Left and right playgrounds. In the middle Wikado, based on Mikado & windmill, you understand why.
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In fact, it’s the suburban single family home with private yard that signals a low trust society. In urban neighborhoods, the public spaces and proximity to one another are signs of high trust, pro-social behavior.
@UrbanCourtyard
There’s often an anti-child culture in large cities where bringing young children into public (restaurants, public transit) is considered a nuisance. Also it’s scary to raise kids in high-crime, low-trust areas
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In southern Europe, the courtyards are sometimes divided, and walled-off parcels give individuals additional privacy. Here is a 4br/2ba ground floor unit in a courtyard building in the San Giovanni neighborhood of Rome, near the Caracalla Terme.
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Typical new development in Lincoln Square has unpopular aesthetics and zero family-oriented units in an area that is hemorrhaging young families.
The affordable development in the heart of Lincoln Square at 4713 N. Western Ave, The Canvas at Leland Plaza, will accept applications starting 10/17. This brand-new affordable development will offer studios, 1-, and 2-bedrooms. Visit for info (1)
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Who’s to blame for unattractive post-war buildings? The rising costs of labor or ideologically motivated schools of architecture?
The technologist with the AI-assisted robotic stone masons says labor costs …
Sorry, but if you don’t think rising construction costs are what killed beautiful architecture, you’re wrong.
Example 1: 246 Greene St.
~37k sq ft, built 1892 for $140k ($4.8m today). That’s $130 a sq ft. Unthinkable.
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@NaqiyNY
This is a joke. This account surely understands that the solution to city demand for ikea is to bring an urban format ikea to the city center.
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@JakeSheridan_
Do they have data for east Asians, Indians and Jews? Those ethnic groups may have net worths at or above white racial group net worth.
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I know families—with little kids—who are car-free or one car. They rent cars for long trips and use Uber when they need to. These are well off people who could afford cars if they wanted the trouble.
@ariklus1
@sixtycyclespdx
@lueyee
@UrbanCourtyard
Yup! I haven’t owned a car since high school since I’ve moved to cities with transit & bikability starting in college. I do the math every few years around taxis/Ubers & rental cars - it’s still way cheaper than owning a car (including one I don’t drive often).
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Courtyard block living in The Hague
In The Hague, you never know what normal looking entry might lead to another fun & eclectic courtyard
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Interesting idea of rebuilding hurricane zone as courtyard blocks with flooding-impervious ground floor parking podium and residences on floors 1-5.
@StatisticUrban
They could come back as
@UrbanCourtyard
blocks.
Parking on the ground floor with housing above.
Get the residential spaces 10 or 11 feet higher off of the ground.
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@chicagobars
We are losing too many middle and high income families to the burbs because of real estate cycle.
We should be taxing the hell out of commercial parking to incentivize the sale of parking lots for redevelopment as housing.
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Berlin has many courtyard blocks that have been subdivided into mini courtyard blocks.
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@PaulSkallas
I am looking forward to the day when the suburban right discovers how trad urban living is and how attractive people are when they walk everywhere
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This is the street view of the courtyard block I lived in when I lived in Florence, after undergrad and working as an au pair for a Florentine family. Street side, we had immediate access to bakeries, pharmacy, cafe, a butcher, a grocer, and every kind of retail.
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Will American families prefer massive condos with courtyards in a walkable city neighborhood to suburban house with a yard?
Yes. Millennial families want to stay in the city but currently can’t find family-sized housing with a yard that they can afford.
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A smaller courtyard block in Milan. I love this stucco color so much.
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How do we stop rich people from buying two flats and turning them into $2M single family homes?
By building spacious corner units in the courtyard blocks with private nested courtyards.
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@AiongTaigi
Right, the MFH that can compete with the suburbs needs to be high-quality, point access (no double-loaded corridors), with family-oriented units that provide easy access to a private yard. Courtyard blocks have been doing this in Europe forever. I’ve lived in one. The US can do
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More AI imaging of Chicago courtyard blocks.
Again, the big appeal of courtyard blocks for parents is that they get the "big house with a yard" in the middle of the city, with all its conveniences and opportunities.
By sharing the inner yard, families will enjoy the density
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My nine year old stayed after to school today to play D&D at a school club. She walked herself home when they were done. By herself. Kids in walkable urban neighborhoods have opportunities and liberties that kids in drive-everywhere-suburbia can only dream of.
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@AndrewAPrice
Sometimes interiors are public, mostly they’re not. The difference I think between the NJ block and the typical European block is size and use. Euro blocks are typically larger and the building is 4-6 stories tall, with commercial space on the ground floor. So it might look like
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If families prefer the burbs, why do large condos and SFHs in good urban school districts start at $1M?
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Reposting this for all the high-rise defenders who want to get angry about the picture of the towers in the park.
The courtyard design uniquely allows for ENCLOSURE of outdoors space, which makes these buildings intrinsically attractive to homeowners who value both density and
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@frenvonnebenan
@PaulSkallas
Yeah, I hate it when people violate my personal space with a smile
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@NQRW
I also want dogs on transit but it absolutely requires enforcing standards of behavior for dog owners and it possibly requires breed restrictions.
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At this point, I have enough people on Twitter to presell all the condos in a courtyard block.
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@ashwindollar
I made it with midjourney. The prompt asked midjourney to imagine a traditional European courtyard block, but with Chicago architecture, and show a group of parents playing euchre and having drinks on the balcony while their kids played on a courtyard playground.
Courtyard
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