[biguc]

This is probably all kinds of radical, but shouldn't townhouses be the predominant kind of house in... towns? Detached single family homes have their places, and that would be ranches, and farms, and cape cod, and wherever else their names suggest, but not in towns.

At this point, between zoning and fire codes, I'm sure traditional townhouses are all but illegal to build. Most that have been built in the last 50 have either been high-end condos or in isolated, homogeneous--usually subsidized--pocket neighborhoods, which doesn't do their reputation any favors. It's a shame, because they make fine places for people who like a yard or need space for children, without sacrificing the density that supports good transit and convenient amenities.