“A pocket neighborhood is different from a traditional neighborhood because there’s a function: The front porch has to be big enough so you can sit on it on a Sunday morning as your neighbor walks by,” said Bob Provost of Carriage House Modular Homes LLC of South Burlington, Vermont. The modular cottage homes are in Waterbury, VT, the site of the one-time Whalley Trailer Park that washed away during Hurricane Irene in August, 2011.

These pocket neighborhoods are tightly-knit developments with soft lighting, planned landscaping and meandering walkways to encourage neighborliness and trust among the residents. The two-story cottages, eleven in all, are sited over a foot above the 100-year floodplain, which reduces the cost of flood insurance substantially. In addition, as stowetoday tells MHProNews, the homes are engineered to withstand a 100-year storm, which means there is only a one percent chance it will occur in any given year.

In order to foster connectivity among the residents and with other neighbors, next spring park benches, Adirondack chairs and flowers and plantings will be added to the pocket. ##

(Image credit: stowevermont/Gordon Miller–modular pocket neighborhood)

Article submitted by Matthew J. Silver to Daily Business News-MHProNews.