Glenwood Park - New Politics, New Communities

Here is an example of new communities being built closer to the central city and not ravaging green open spaces (Unforunately I am not a master of picture uploads to this site and the best editing job after over an hour resulted in my poics being in reverse order - bear with me). The developer realized that the money put into parks and streets, creating a proper public realm would eventually be reclaimed in property values. Unlike some of the previous week's farflung suburban isolated communities, Glenwood Park's streets are city-owned and connect through to the rest of the North Ormewood Park neighborhood (with the exception of the tiny oneway street around Brasfield Square which is not up to city standards).

Glenwood Park provides a diverse, mixed-use community. In the central commercial square there is an architectural firm, bars, restaurants, a book/wine shop and a coffee shop. The community itself is also a very short walk from East Atlanta Village and its commercial offerings as well as a nice walk to Grant Park or Cabbage Town and a #9 bus trip to downtown ( Granted, judging by the SUVs there may not be actual walking to these places, but it's there and possible).

Glenwood Park also makes use of mixed architectural styles. Evident in some of the pictures is the difference in detahced single familt houses and condos which all ring the central live-work units.

To increase the density, Glenwood Park implements stacked flats. From a distance, this looks like a single door to a townhouse, but is actually an opening to two doors leading to two separate vertically stacked flats. Some of the units come with small yards to complement the large common park area and the bourgeois-minded bocce ball court. As the stroller in front of one unit signifies, this neighborhood is not just for singles. Families are able to enjoy Glenwood Park and its community-oriented urbanist environment as well.

On top of public streets and a park open to the publicm Glenwood Park includes pedestrian paths connecting the neighborhood in a more human-friendly and not simply in an auto-dominated manner.

As a final thought (1st picture) the water detention pond underscores the difference between Glenwood Park and the tragic developments so typical of the last 50 years. Most developers in typical suburbs realize the water detention is necessary, but try to hide it and fence it in an out of the way place. Here, the developer uses this necessity to create another attribute for the community with a water feature that adjoins the park. It sounds small, but transforming something that is usually thought of as a dirty little necessity into a community bonding attraction/signature underscores the commitment to have Glenwood Park diverge from the horrific development one normally sees in the modern American suburb.