Quote:
Originally Posted by Hackslack
I’ve never quite understood the opinion of a “soulless subdivision filled with cookie cutter house”. I mean that’s all these people can afford, and I bet many who live in those “soullless subdivisions” can barely afford to get by. Obviously it can’t be expected for everyone to have a custom home, with extra yard space. What would it take to change your opinion or idea that would move away from you opinion of “kitschy —” type of houses?…. That said, I like the feature of stone walls or other public art features, that helps enhance the general vibe of the neighborhoods.
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Generally, anytime you have a large scale development it's going to seem souless (I use soul and character interchangeably) to people because the soul comes in the interaction with time and place. With these type of developments, the land is bulldozed and flattened rather than buildings being nestled against hills and slopes, beside streams, near old trees, etc. And it isn't just that the houses all have the same architectural style because lots of soulful places have that. But it's also that the landscaping, which is typically a lot of boring turf grass, is also the same. In an area with soul, there will be lots of variation in the landscape. You'll have some quirky eccentric person with a yard smothered in tall grass, shrubs or wild flowers, another with an old bathtub serving as a giant pot, one with sculptures, etc. For me, it's very difficult for an area where yards are mostly turf grass to have any sense of character. Turf grass is not context. It's a placeholder for where context would be if an area has character.
And the houses will often have a patina of time. Some in great shape and others a bit weathered and run down, some that have been renovated or repaired while others looking original. There will be additions, garages, gazebos, and so forth. If a development is designed in a way that isn't specific to it's location and could be basically any subdivision across the country, and if people haven't had time (or not allowed by HOAs) to individualize the house and property, then the nabe will lack character and soul. But I think the biggest factor is the landscaping. You could have a whole area of new, identical houses and if they're smothered in lush trees, shrubbery and other plants, it would be tough for it to look souless. Well, unless all the plants were highly manicured.
But as far as affordability, perhaps (not sure) souless nabes are a bit cheaper during initial build out since the whole process is so formulaic. But that doesn't make them any less souless. Those are separate topics. And it's also possible that the overall, lifecycle cost of character-filled areas is lower since there's more environmental services performed by natural process
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