A residential area is a land used in which houses predominates, as opposed to industrial and Commercial Area.
Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residential, or . Zoning for residential use may permit some services or work opportunities or may totally exclude business and industry. It may permit urban density or only permit low density uses. Residential zoning usually includes a smaller FAR (floor area ratio) than business, commercial or industrial/manufacturing zoning. The area may be large or small.
In previous centuries, residential development was mainly of two kinds. Rich people bought a townlot, hired an architect and/or contractor, and built a bespoke / customized house or mansion for their family. Poor urban people lived in or in built for rental. Single-family houses were seldom built on speculation, that is for future sale to residents not yet identified. When cities and the middle class expanded greatly and became commonplace, a method that had been rare became commonplace to serve the expanding demand for home ownership. Post–World War II economic expansion in major cities of the United States, especially New York City and Los Angeles produced a demand for thousands of new homes, which was largely met by speculative building. Its large-scale practitioners disliked the term "property speculator" and coined the new name "residential development" for their activity. Entire farms and ranches were subdivided and developed, often with one individual or company controlling all aspects of entitlement (permits), land development (streets and grading), infrastructure (utilities and sewage disposal), and housing. Communities like Levittown, Long Island or Lakewood south of Los Angeles saw new homes sold at unprecedented rates—more than one a day. Many techniques which had made the automobile affordable made housing affordable: standardization of design and small, repetitive assembly tasks, advertising, and a smooth flow of capital. Mass production resulted in a similar uniformity of product, and a more comfortable lifestyle than cramped apartments in the cities. With the advent of government-backed mortgages, it could actually be cheaper to own a house in a new residential development than to rent.
As with other products, Kaizen appeared. Curving streets, greenbelt parks, neighborhood pools, and community entry monumentation appeared. Diverse with differing room counts, and multiple elevations (different exterior "looks" for the same plan) appeared. Developers remained competitive with each other on everything, including location, community amenities, kitchen appliance packages, and price.
Today, a typical residential development in the United States might include traffic calming features such as a slowly winding street, Cul-de-sac, or Loop route road lined with homes.
developments help form the stereotype image of a "suburban America" and are generally associated with the United States middle-class. Most offer homes in a narrow range of age, price, size and features, thus potential residents having different needs, wishes or resources must look elsewhere. Some residential developments are gated communities or residential communities.
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