About TND's

Traditional Neighborhood Developments

Village Gardens is being designed as a Traditional Neighborhood Development, a style of New Urbanism rapidly gaining popularity. Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND), combines the best of early 20^th century neighborhood design with modern amenities and conveniences.

TNDs focus on creating “human scale” neighborhoods that are interesting, diverse, and walkable. Connected street grids and setback or alley-entrance garages balance the needs of pedestrians and automobiles. The goal of Traditional Neighborhood Development is to build a more livable, enjoyable human environment.

Nearly 600 TNDs are under construction across the country today. Village Gardens will feature many recognizable characteristics of TNDs, including:

Quality architecture with an emphasis on beauty, aesthetics, and human comfort to create a sense of place.
Traditionally-styled homes with front porches and verandas set close to the street to promote neighborhood interaction.
Setback or alley-entrance garages move parking, trash collection and utilities behind the homes—enhancing beauty and calming traffic.
Housing diversity with various home types, sizes, architectural styles, and prices in the same neighborhood.
An interconnected street grid with boulevards, alleys, and paths to disperse traffic and increase walkability.
Well-lighted tree-lined streets and wide sidewalks that lead to parks, schools, and pedestrian-oriented village centers.

Many people ask how Village Gardens compares to other typical subdivisions. Here is a preview of the differences we perceive:

Village Gardens	Conventional Subdivisions
1. Houses set closer to the street, large front porches, and set-back or alley- entrance garages improve aesthetics and encourage neighborhood interaction.	1. Deep yards, few porches, and garage-dominated streetscapes discourage interaction among neighbors and are visually repetitious.
2. A wide variety of housing styles and sizes increases visual diversity and creates homes for people at different stages of life and various family sizes.	2. Similar-style house plans reduce visual interest while standardized square footage requirements limit occupant diversity.
3. Well-connected street grids and thoughtfully placed wide sidewalks reduce traffic congestion and promote walking.	3. Cul-de-sacs, collector roads, and “dead-end” or no sidewalks reduce walkability and increase traffic congestion

Find out more about Traditional Neighborhood Development and New Urbanism at: