03-16-2016, 09:42 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-16-2016, 09:44 AM by Viewfromthe42.)
There are interesting views about these sorts of things. With townhomes, when you keep parking at the front, it gives the opportunity to have quiet backyards for residents. When units back onto each other, you can even occasionally have shared space between the backyards.
When you put cars out back, the outdoor area becomes the front lawn. For most people, that's not terribly usable, as there is no separation from neighbours, little privacy, more noise from the street, and danger from the street. For the nicety of the view we have when driving by, we remove any usable outdoor space from the residents, which is a shame, let alone the additional ground chewed up by taking a front side driveway and additionally chewing up a drive to the back side of the property, plus associated maneuvering space, adding a lot more asphalt-per-unit.
Imagine the grey townhomes at Park and Allen, northwest corner. You don't see any hint of anyone from Park, with all the cars and asphalt out back. Those homes have zero usable outdoor space.
When you put cars out back, the outdoor area becomes the front lawn. For most people, that's not terribly usable, as there is no separation from neighbours, little privacy, more noise from the street, and danger from the street. For the nicety of the view we have when driving by, we remove any usable outdoor space from the residents, which is a shame, let alone the additional ground chewed up by taking a front side driveway and additionally chewing up a drive to the back side of the property, plus associated maneuvering space, adding a lot more asphalt-per-unit.
Imagine the grey townhomes at Park and Allen, northwest corner. You don't see any hint of anyone from Park, with all the cars and asphalt out back. Those homes have zero usable outdoor space.