‘Affordable’ housing is more than just the price
March 25 − To the Editor:
Jim’s Splaine’s recent piece about affordability related to housing was excellent and pointed out the very real notion that what is affordable to some may not be for others.
Another aspect of creating new places to live – not just in Portsmouth, but everywhere – is consideration of the needs of people beyond affordability. Location needs are important, yes. However, design needs for places to live should be factored in more than they appear to be now: not just the design of the living space itself, but also the overall design of the complex or subdivision.
While there are myriad needs and elements to think about, two come to mind as particularly important: design of places to live for older adults and/or people with mobility challenges (NOT “senior housing”) and design of places to support social connections.
When we sold our home in Portsmouth three years ago, we knew we wanted to find a place that had onefloor living, or at least potential for that (ie, for a bedroom on the first floor). We looked at older homes and new ones. The older ones needed too much work for our budget. The newer ones were great – except that many with one-floor-living design had the first floor above the garage, meaning a flight of stairs (outside or in or both) to get to the living area. We could manage that now, but knew that it could become an issue within a few years. We get that having the garage under everything else means a smaller footprint and is efficient – but not for us. We found a place in Dover with only two steps into the main living area, which includes two bedrooms, a sunny living-dining area and kitchen. Even the laundry is right there.
However, the downside is that, like many new subdivisions that have the garage on the same level as the first floor, the garage is the front of the house footprint, and the main entryway is tucked next to it and back. So if we sit in the “front” of our house near the entryway, we can only see part of the street, as the garage blocks the view of the rest. Same with all the other neighbors on our side – we could all be sitting out and not know it, as our garages block the views. And looking at subdivision plans and images of existing ‘hoods, I see this over and over.
Most of us crave community, and we know that isolation and loneliness are considered an epidemic now, with serious health implications . When we lived in Portsmouth, I sat on my porch almost every evening when it was warm enough, and could see people and chat and be part of it all. Plans I see published in this paper and elsewhere for proposed new neighborhoods of single-family homes are for the most part not designed for connecting with others. No front porches, gages that block street views … and having living on the second floor is not as conducive to connecting with neighbors, even with a porch up there.
I encourage planners and developers to really think about who needs what as homes and places are designed going forward – starting with the people who are already in the community. One-floor living with wide doorways other accessibility designs should be common, whether single-family, detached homes or in multi-plexes. Front porches with wide views of the neighborhood should be standard, even in multi-family buildings. (Bonus: all looking out onto a green, with road and garage behind the house or building).
Having dozens of nice-looking places – even if affordable – is great, but how many people are still left out, and what are these new places doing, collectively, to bring people together? We could all benefit. Robin H. LeBlanc
Dover