In our walks around New Rochelle something I find charming are the old Residential Parks markers. Barbara Davis, our local historian, told us that these are some of America's earliest planned neighborhoods. Here's an excerpt from Barbara's notes.
"The first such development, Rochelle Park, set a high standard in the 1880s. Designed by a landscape architect, the area was carved out with an aesthetic balance of naturalistic rambles, cultivated open spaces, clear viewsheds, and tree-lined promenades that ensured a park-like setting for wholesome living. The developers ensured the concept by including deed covenants that protected setbacks and guidelines that encouraged homes to be built in the charming romantic revival styles of the day. Rochelle Park became an ideal antidote to New York City's increasing crowds, dirt and crime brought on by industrialization - particularly with its added asset of being a quick walk (or trolley ride) to and from the train station. The neighborhoods quickly attracted the new and growing class of the gainfully employed called commuters"
So New Rochelle is the original Transit Oriented Development city. Or as Peter Calthorpe, the author of the term now prefers to call it, Pedestrian Oriented Development. And this is still the case today. Recent residents have told Barbara they chose New Rochelle for its easy commute into Manhattan and for its walkability.
On Pedestrian Oriented Development, here's a quote from Peter Calthorpe: "The reality is that people get almost too focused on transit. There’s a symbiotic relationship between it and walkable destinations. You can’t have good transit if you can’t walk when you arrive. So pedestrian-oriented development is really at the heart and soul of great cities. Every city that you love is a city that you want to walk in. We travel the globe in order to walk in great cities." Click here for the full interview.
"The first such development, Rochelle Park, set a high standard in the 1880s. Designed by a landscape architect, the area was carved out with an aesthetic balance of naturalistic rambles, cultivated open spaces, clear viewsheds, and tree-lined promenades that ensured a park-like setting for wholesome living. The developers ensured the concept by including deed covenants that protected setbacks and guidelines that encouraged homes to be built in the charming romantic revival styles of the day. Rochelle Park became an ideal antidote to New York City's increasing crowds, dirt and crime brought on by industrialization - particularly with its added asset of being a quick walk (or trolley ride) to and from the train station. The neighborhoods quickly attracted the new and growing class of the gainfully employed called commuters"
So New Rochelle is the original Transit Oriented Development city. Or as Peter Calthorpe, the author of the term now prefers to call it, Pedestrian Oriented Development. And this is still the case today. Recent residents have told Barbara they chose New Rochelle for its easy commute into Manhattan and for its walkability.
On Pedestrian Oriented Development, here's a quote from Peter Calthorpe: "The reality is that people get almost too focused on transit. There’s a symbiotic relationship between it and walkable destinations. You can’t have good transit if you can’t walk when you arrive. So pedestrian-oriented development is really at the heart and soul of great cities. Every city that you love is a city that you want to walk in. We travel the globe in order to walk in great cities." Click here for the full interview.
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