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Samara - Backyard homes and ADUs

A focus on ‘missing middle’ housing: The plans feature housing that is fairly high density but not high rise — a combination of "row houses" between 2-4 stories high, and apartment buildings going up to 8 stories. This is the type of neighborhood that makes up the most beloved places in the world. Places like Amsterdam, Venice, Santa Monica, Lake C... See more

The town is hoping to avoid repeating the patterns of other suburbs in the region. “Strip malls, subdivisions, big-box stores, all that stuff we see all over North America,” says Jerschow. “The vision for the Orbit was about rethinking that approach.”

With this sort of amenity-rich cocoon, there is a relentless focus on the object, absent of any context or community. The future of mobility is assumed to be car-dependent, while a vision based more on public transportation is thought to be old-fashioned. But isn’t planning for the car the thing that is most out of date?