Village Homes; Davis, California 1970's

Developer: Judy and Michael Corbett

Located in a university town, Davis, California, Village Homes is a 60 Acre, 242-Unit Mixed
Residential "Garden Village" incorporating innovative ecological and social features. Inclusion
of parks, recreational opportunities, a day-care facility, and a commercial center all add up
to a community where residents can enjoy a higher quality of life while living lightly on the land.

Common path system is used for biking, walking, and jogging. WAYS OF LIVING LIGHTLY ON THE LAND

Village Homes contains sustainable homes with walls and roofs that are well insulated, use double-paned windows, and lightly colored exteriors.

Homes use passive or active solare space heating and have rooftop solar water heaters.

Layout of Village Homes allows all homes to face south to maximize the use of the sun.

Streets are much narrower that streets in standard housing developments and there are no thru streets.

Houses open onto common areas linked by bicycle paths that form a grid thru-out the neighborhood.

Natural drainage system takes care of runoff through a system of creeks and ponds.

Section of Community shows natural drainage system.

Swales are both functional and visually pleasing. CREATING A SENSE OF COMMUNITY

Many of the features (pool, Community Center, play structures, etc) throughout the village were built by those living in the community.

17 acres of community gardens and orchards create interaction between residents.

Narrow streets allow a greater sense of community ownership to develop because residents percieve the space belongs to them.

Street all dead-end, thus causing parents to feel relaxed about letting their children use the streets for skate boarding and other hardscape activities.

Plan shows orientation of roads, housing, and common areas. CONCERNS

Creating a "Gated Community" isolated from surrounding neighborhoods.

In reality, the surrounding neighbors use the path system for walking, jogging, and biking to work. Also, the numerous playgrounds and fields, are often used by surrounding neighborhood children as well as children that live within Village Homes.

[HOME][DEFINITIONS][HISTORY][BENEFITS][COMPONENTS][CONSIDERATIONS][PROBLEMS][SOLUTIONS][EXAMPLES][BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Document author(s) : Mehul Doshi, Amy Fatlan, Jeannette Lenear, & Andrea Wittleder
HTML by : Mehul Doshi, Amy Fatlan, Jeannette Lenear, & Andrea Wittleder
Last modified: April 10, 2001

Common path system is used for biking, walking, and jogging.	WAYS OF LIVING LIGHTLY ON THE LAND Village Homes contains sustainable homes with walls and roofs that are well insulated, use double-paned windows, and lightly colored exteriors. Homes use passive or active solare space heating and have rooftop solar water heaters. Layout of Village Homes allows all homes to face south to maximize the use of the sun. Streets are much narrower that streets in standard housing developments and there are no thru streets. Houses open onto common areas linked by bicycle paths that form a grid thru-out the neighborhood. Natural drainage system takes care of runoff through a system of creeks and ponds.

Section of Community shows natural drainage system.

Swales are both functional and visually pleasing.	CREATING A SENSE OF COMMUNITY Many of the features (pool, Community Center, play structures, etc) throughout the village were built by those living in the community. 17 acres of community gardens and orchards create interaction between residents. Narrow streets allow a greater sense of community ownership to develop because residents percieve the space belongs to them. Street all dead-end, thus causing parents to feel relaxed about letting their children use the streets for skate boarding and other hardscape activities.

Plan shows orientation of roads, housing, and common areas.	CONCERNS Creating a "Gated Community" isolated from surrounding neighborhoods. In reality, the surrounding neighbors use the path system for walking, jogging, and biking to work. Also, the numerous playgrounds and fields, are often used by surrounding neighborhood children as well as children that live within Village Homes.