06/30/2026
You know what a typical suburban design looks like: big homes, big yards, and wide streets.
This can be a nice place to live, but there’s a fault in the system we don’t often account for: because everything sits far apart, the amount of pipe and pavement adds up quickly, along with the long-term maintenance that comes with it.
This is a familiar pattern because we’ve been building this way for a long time. But what if there was another option that was more fiscally sustainable?
Instead of the typical wide streets (sometimes up to 65 feet) the standards ask for, we could reduce the street width to achieve compact streets.
That shift would give more room for trees, housing, and a street where cars are more likely to drive safe speeds. That one simple change in the zoning code could benefit the entire neighborhood for generations to come.
Where are your favorite neighborhoods with narrow streets?
