Rural Village: A walkable community concept plan

Most development in rural areas today takes the form of large-lot subdivisions located great distances from amenities such as schools, shopping and employment. This form of development is very inefficient, and has the result of destroying rural character. The Rural Village concept offers a real alternative. Several villages of 500 to 1500 homes could accommodate most future growth without destroying large areas of farmland or forest.

Apartments, detached houses and townhouses would be built along narrow, tree-lined streets, and most village residents would live within a minute walk of the mixed-use village center, where shops, workplaces and a transit stop would be located. Each village would have a learning center, performing various functions such as school, daycare, senior center and public library.

The villages would be designed around the needs of pedestrians, with sidewalks on all streets, crosswalks on busier roads, and stores built right up to the sidewalk rather than behind huge parking lots. Frequent bus service would be provided between villages, and those located along railroads could also be served by passenger trains. Villages would have their own small-scale public water and sewer systems. While the concept plan is for a non-specific site, there are many sites that could be evaluated for possible sites of future villages.