A look at what's going on in Trinidad, on H Street, and in the larger area north of Capitol Hill.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
NYT: Greening Alleys in Chicago
The Times offers an interesting piece on what Chicago is doing to improve the environmental impact of its massive system of alleys.
14 comments:
Anonymous
said...
This is a fascinating article that any of us who live on or near an alley should read. Never heard of this, but I would love to see something like this in the alley near my house.
This is a great concept in my opinion. I've forwarded a link to the article to Tommy Wells' office in hopes that perhaps DC can do something along these lines.
Not to be a skeptic, 'cause I've wanted to re-do my driveway with permeable materials since I moved in, but along with all the rainwater there will be all sorts of really nasty stuff filtering down into the water table as well. I suppose it's stuff that would be going into the local river anyway, but it's just a thought.
Anyone else notice how the more rehab/renovation goes on, the more "encroached" the alleys become? The alley behind the north side of the 600 block of L Street is quite a bit more constricted than it was four years ago. Everyone just "cheats" out into the alley a little more than the last guy did. It's sort of getting ridiculous.
sounds great for chicago, but i'm not sure about dc.
when i moved into my house, the brick walls below the ground surface were pretty much in shambles because of water not being drained to a central (city) drain. most of the foundation in the rear of the house had to be totally redone, so the back part of the house wouldn't collapse.
there's a house near 3rd and H that actually did collapse (back part) due to water saturation at the foundation level.
depending on your elevation/slope/etc. water sinking through alley's could come back to haunt your basic structure by eating away at the mortar between your bricks.
just look at some of the places in alexandria that are sinking because rainwater isn't drained.
granted i'm on the west side of H street, otherwise known as SWAMPoodle. so i may be a bit more concerned than those at higher elevations.
What we should really be thinking about is allowing some residential development in some of our alleys. If we're really all about environmental development it's stunningly stupid for us to allow our alleyway structures to go unused. Quite a few other older cities allow alleyway dwellings. In DC, they are allowed only if they are grandfathered in.
Perhaps we should rethink that.
The obvious downside would of course be parking. We would have to stipulate that you couldn't destroy a parking space to create a living space.
But the upsides are worth thinking about. The first is safety. Having a few alley dwellings around would greatly increase safety in alleys. And it may create a few affordable housing options for people, as these would tend to be more modest dwellings.
And it'd just be damn charming as well. A lot of our alleys have really charming two story buildings already. It's a shame that we can't live in them.
The points about water are well-taken. This would probably not work for all areas of DC, some of which was built quite literally on a swamp. Presumably (always dangerous with DC government, I guess), engineers would have knowledge about the level of the water table and be able to determine if & where this would be practical / advisable.
On Hillman's comment about alley dwellings, I have to agree that properly managed (vs. the free-for-all that led to the slum-clearing and ban on alley dwellings), this could be a great source of housing. Particularly with the shortage of "living wage" and affordable housing, it is silly to waste huge areas that exist in the alley system where use would be compatible with health, safety and welfare.
Slight tangent, but does anyone know how to go about checking on whether there's an easement in an alley or not? My survey says that I own the alley behind my lot and no one would really have a reason to go back there, but if I move my fence back I don't want to open a can of worms without knowing what's up legally.
14 comments:
This is a fascinating article that any of us who live on or near an alley should read. Never heard of this, but I would love to see something like this in the alley near my house.
Damn you're good, Inked. I saw this yesterday and meant to post a link on FT for you, and completely forgot.
But here it is all the same.
Thanks again for doing this.
This is a great concept in my opinion. I've forwarded a link to the article to Tommy Wells' office in hopes that perhaps DC can do something along these lines.
Best,
Alan Kimber
ANC Commissioner, 6C05
Not to be a skeptic, 'cause I've wanted to re-do my driveway with permeable materials since I moved in, but along with all the rainwater there will be all sorts of really nasty stuff filtering down into the water table as well.
I suppose it's stuff that would be going into the local river anyway, but it's just a thought.
Anyone else notice how the more rehab/renovation goes on, the more "encroached" the alleys become? The alley behind the north side of the 600 block of L Street is quite a bit more constricted than it was four years ago. Everyone just "cheats" out into the alley a little more than the last guy did. It's sort of getting ridiculous.
hmmm...
sounds great for chicago, but i'm not sure about dc.
when i moved into my house, the brick walls below the ground surface were pretty much in shambles because of water not being drained to a central (city) drain. most of the foundation in the rear of the house had to be totally redone, so the back part of the house wouldn't collapse.
there's a house near 3rd and H that actually did collapse (back part) due to water saturation at the foundation level.
depending on your elevation/slope/etc. water sinking through alley's could come back to haunt your basic structure by eating away at the mortar between your bricks.
just look at some of the places in alexandria that are sinking because rainwater isn't drained.
granted i'm on the west side of H street, otherwise known as SWAMPoodle. so i may be a bit more concerned than those at higher elevations.
chicago is pretty level....
it's something to consider.
What we should really be thinking about is allowing some residential development in some of our alleys. If we're really all about environmental development it's stunningly stupid for us to allow our alleyway structures to go unused. Quite a few other older cities allow alleyway dwellings. In DC, they are allowed only if they are grandfathered in.
Perhaps we should rethink that.
The obvious downside would of course be parking. We would have to stipulate that you couldn't destroy a parking space to create a living space.
But the upsides are worth thinking about. The first is safety. Having a few alley dwellings around would greatly increase safety in alleys. And it may create a few affordable housing options for people, as these would tend to be more modest dwellings.
And it'd just be damn charming as well. A lot of our alleys have really charming two story buildings already. It's a shame that we can't live in them.
I agree with PooPoo AND Hillman for a change! - both presented very civil positions with no name calling. Let's not break the pattern.
Yeah, for the first time ever I agree with poo poo. Water = bad. I do everything I can to keep water from saturating the ground around my house.
The points about water are well-taken. This would probably not work for all areas of DC, some of which was built quite literally on a swamp. Presumably (always dangerous with DC government, I guess), engineers would have knowledge about the level of the water table and be able to determine if & where this would be practical / advisable.
On Hillman's comment about alley dwellings, I have to agree that properly managed (vs. the free-for-all that led to the slum-clearing and ban on alley dwellings), this could be a great source of housing. Particularly with the shortage of "living wage" and affordable housing, it is silly to waste huge areas that exist in the alley system where use would be compatible with health, safety and welfare.
Best,
Alan Kimber
ANC Commissioner, 6C05
Slight tangent, but does anyone know how to go about checking on whether there's an easement in an alley or not? My survey says that I own the alley behind my lot and no one would really have a reason to go back there, but if I move my fence back I don't want to open a can of worms without knowing what's up legally.
Minor digression: Washington DC was not built on a swamp.
It does, however, have some serious sewage draining problems that emerge during heavy rainfall and snow thaw.
btw, is the car in that picture parked there to keep the telephone pole propped up?
I don't think so.
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