Breaking the Fourth Wall: Week of May 15 (Pocket Full of Affordability)

Today we continue the weekly "Breaking the Fourth Wall" series that directs the blog's spotlight toward a particularly innovative or promising affordable housing project, luminary, or organization. 

Image Credit: Univ. of Arkansas CDC

Sometimes, even in the world of affordable housing, smaller is better. Earlier this year, the American Institute of Architects agreed and bestowed a 2013 Honor Award for Regional & Urban Design upon the Downtown Little Rock Community Development Corporation and University of Arkansas Design Center for their Rock Street Pocket Housing Project. The project, which consists of units clustered to comprise a "pocket neighborhood"- a small-scale, mid-density neighborhood centered around a landscaped common green space- is providing a much-needed revitalization to the Little Rock's Pettaway Park. The AIA noted that the Rock Street Pocket Housing was notable for providing what planners call the "missing middle" in affordable housing options that is rare in 21st century development. This "missing middle" refers to housing built "between the scales of the single-family house and mid-rise flats...idea for leveraging quality in an affordable housing setting." Rock Street's attractive, gabled bungalow court blends with the architectural heritage of Pettaway Park, an inner-core neighborhood developed mainly between the 1920s and 1940s- while incorporating principles of sustainability, transit-oriented planning, and design innovation that are poised to set the future standard for affordable housing development.

Pocket Full of Green Thinking 

The Rock Street Pocket Housing project arrives at practical solutions through simple but elegant green methods. In response to the neighborhood's chronic flooding concerns from the nearby Arkansas River, the project includes a natural, low impact filtration system that utilizes "rain gardens" and filter strips to stem flooding. The project also features lamination trenches, bioswales, and permeable weirs to slow the rate of flow and, remove silt and pollution from surface runoff, and absorb moisture to enrich the soil and increase vegetation.

Pocket Full of Transit

Located less than one mile from Downtown Little Rock, the Rock Street Pocket Housing also has tremendous transit potential, particularly in a city such as Little Rock that is not known as a public transit model. The project could be a shining example of how residents can reduce their driving dependency and carbon emissions, as Rock Street Pocket Housing is a short walk to a variety of businesses and commercial offerings in the downtown core, schools, parks, and health clinics. Additionally, three of the major bus routes connect the neighborhood to most of Greater Little Rock. 

Pocket Full of Community

The defining attribute of the Rock Street Pocket House project is its central common green spaces and communal pooling of resources to manage storm water infrastructure and maintain the shared lawns, driveways, and community playground. The communal nature, in addition to keeping costs down and enhancing the affordability of the neighborhood's units, encourages stewardship and shared community identity among residents. The occupants of Rock Street's affordable units become grass-roots stakeholders in the preservation and success of the project's mission and the continuation of transit-oriented affordable housing in Little Rock.

For more information and pictures about the pocket neighborhood in Little Rock's Pettaway Park, visit the University of Arkansas' Community Design Center site. 

Credit must be given to NRDC Sustainable Communities Director Professor Kaid Benfield's article, which first alerted me to the pocket house developments in Little Rock and the AIA awards.