Asheville Traditional Neighborhood Developments

Asheville traditional neighborhood developments are a growing force in the Asheville real estate market. No surprise there, with so many people moving to the mountains of North Carolina from out of state, developers are taking advantage of every opportunity to receive them. A substantially large portion of the new arrivals are people moving up from Florida. The Florida market was more or less the hometown for the concept of New Urbanism, largely put forward by Seaside and than followed by such communities as Rosemary Beach and Celebration. What are some of the things these traditional neighborhood developments have in common? Well for one the share a history of massive rates of appreciation, and secondly they share national recognition as groundbreaking concepts, resort communities, and general tourist destinations. Makes sense that the Asheville area would be open to this relatively new style of development.

There are other reasons for traditional neighborhood developments to do well in Asheville. Some of the basic principals behind New Urbanism harmonize nicely with some of the mind sets that Asheville has become famous for. Another name for the traditional neighborhood development is transit minded community, meaning that the planning for these towns keeps in mind making transportation to amenities and work simple, efficient, and environmentally friendly. Traditional Neighborhoods are built around a "town center", a sort of hub for the community to gather for events, activities, or just about anything you can think of. The people of Asheville are well known for loving to get together and have a good time. Anyone who has ever been to Asheville on a Friday night in the spring has witnessed a town teaming with happiness, life, and enthusiasm. One more thing that the principals of traditional neighborhood developments have in common with Asheville is the struggle to control sprawling development. Many people in Asheville have very strong feelings against new sprawling development which they feel threatens to change the wonderful culture and image their fair city enjoys. New Urbanist communities are intentionally designed to create and draw together communities while preventing urban sprawl. The lot sizes in TND's are smaller and homes are often built more vertically than horizontally. The anti-sprawl effect is considered one of the chief virtues of Traditional Neighborhood Developments.

And so it seems to just make sense that with so many new arrivals to the Asheville area every year that the new urbanist traditional neighborhood development is a great tool to provide communities for the new residents. With change being inevitable we must do the best we can to make these changes for the best.