American Dream

Another great planning concept, "live-work" townhomes, turns out to be a failure. In Portland's Fairview Village, an "award-winning" (but slow selling) New Urban development, townhomes were built with separate offices which the residents were supposed to use for work studios. But few residents wanted to work so close to home, and the offices are too small by themselves to rent out.

So people ended up selling their entire townhouses to businesses who set up beauty parlors, real estate offices, and other commercial uses. While the city approved the use of the townhomes for such businesses, the fire marshall now says the buildings are not built to commercial codes. This means the businesses must either make expensive modifications or move.

If only people were willing to live the way planners fantasize they should live we wouldn't have these problems. Of course, you have to also wonder why a three-story office requires fire walls and sprinklers while a one-story office with two stories of housing above does not. I guess it is okay to burn up residents, just not offices.