Southern Village: Revival of the Traditional Neighborhood Design

Chapel Hill, North Carolina boasts that is home to one of the best new urbanism communities in the country. Southern Village is a true new urbanism community with a village design. New urbanism communities are becoming one of the most popular types of neighborhoods for sales, as residents can live, work, and shop all within blocks of their homes. Southern Village is no exception to this rule.

Southern Village is a traditional neighborhood. There are tree-lined streets with on street parking. The streets are narrow. The walkability of the neighborhood is one of its strongest assets. Sidewalks are interconnected throughout the village. This feature makes it obvious that the neighborhood was designed using a new urbanism philosophy: design for people, not for cars.

Another new urbanism feature of the neighborhood is the design to include a front porch in all of the homes. A front porch helps foster a sense of community. As people sit on their front porches, they are able to socialize with those that walk by on the sidewalk. In Southern Village, homes are placed close to the sidewalk to facilitate this mingling of people with their neighbors.

One of the major challenges that designers faced when selling their vision for this new urbanism village was trying to convince people that homes with lots 1/10 to 1/3 the size of the competition's lot would sell. Once building started and people saw the uniqueness and importance of these small lots, sales flourished. Open space and recreation areas throughout the community make up for lack of yard space. People quickly saw that you were not just buying a home in Southern Village; you were buying a way of life.

The homes in the Southern Village neighborhood also promote income equality. This equality is another key characteristic of a new urbanism design. In new urbanism, condos, apartments, townhomes, and several sizes of single family homes exist. This balance of housing types is meant to help create an equal opportunity among people of different incomes and create cohesiveness to the village.

One of the most important draws of Southern Village is the fact that it is a true village community. Within blocks each home, there is a village center called Market Street. On Market Street, you can find anything that you may want or need; and it is all within walking distance. The Lumina is a movie theater showing five movies at a time. During the summer, the Lumina offers outdoor movies in the Village Green. People come down to the Village Green, spread out a blanket with the family, and watch popular movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean or Superman Returns. The Lumina also offers Baby Night Monday Evening where the theater lights are left up and sound is turned down a little to make it easier for those with children.

Among other goods and services offered on Market Street are a coop grocery store called Weaver Street Market. The new urbanism village also has a café, several restaurants, several gift stores, and Market Street Books. Services include Village Pediatrics, Harrington Bank, O2 Fitness, H2O Only cleaners, and Forever Young Spa. On Thursday's throughout the spring and summer, the Farmer's Market opens on the Village Green. Chapel Hill Daycare provides parents a safe and educational place to care for their children within walking distance to their homes. Many other goods and services are also available in a beautiful village town center.

Home prices in Southern Village have appreciated significantly since building completion. Homes in Southern Village are very popular, and often sell quickly, as they do in all new urbanism communities. There are always some up on the market, but you need to act quickly. People have realized in recent years that the traditional neighborhood offers so much more than the "McMansion" neighborhoods of the recent past. With a new urbanism community like Southern Village, you are purchasing a lifestyle, a simple way of life built on the tenets of community.

For more information on Southern Village, please visit www.southernvillage.com.