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"Growth policy must talk about building community, not formulas."

That is the smartest thing I have seen on any of these board in months and months.

I should point out that the house in question was built as an intentional suburbia, as was Takoma Park. Indeed, you will discover, as you research, that the Connecticut Avenue Bridge over Rock Creek Park was built as a railroad bridge; at the time, the general limit of downtown development was Florida Avenue, NW. See also, to contrast and compare, the history of Meridian Hill Park (a.k.a. Malcolm X Shabazz Park) and the overlooking square, particularly referencing the 1400 block of Belmont Street NW. Anyone mentioning the Pitts Motor Lodge will be resoundingly ignored unless they're cracking on it harsh-like.

All of that being said, Chevy Chase, the intentional suburbia, was built as a retreat for the very rich, people who would in later generations say "I'm Chevy Chase, and You're Not". A fascinating community and I've been privileged to know a few folks from there, and it is indeed true that it was built as a community, more or less, and while many have moved in, and many have just "arrived", a lot of the families there have been movers and shakers across the generations since before it was built, but probably never moreso than since it was built.

If you wanted to compare houses built in comparable timeframe and with comparable intentions, the best comparisons for contrast would probably be Old Town Rockville and Old Town Kensington.

Part of the "community" of Chevy Chase, or Kensington for that matter, is the fact that generations have matured, had careers, and raised children and seen grandchildren raise in the same house on the same street.

Contrast and compare that "steadfastly in place on the land" with the comings and goings of most of Montgomery County, which I seem to recall lives here for an average of just under 8 years.

But Dan's excellent title throws common sense into a recent discussion, if in a different thread. This house, and indeed all of Chevy Chase, has a "FAR" (floor-area-ratio", or "stacking factor") far too low for academics to consider it "walkable". Indeed, according to some, the very low FAR tells us that even the home closest to Western Avenue NW's bus-station, 10-minute walk to Friendship Heights Metrorail station, and the immense line of stores which are clearly just-another Rockville-Pikeish strip mall... well, with the very low FAR it can't possibly legitimately be labeled "walkable". Seriously, look at it with googlemap! There's no Density there. Can't be walkable.

But if I had $2-million to blow on housing, I'd sure love to live there, and I'd probably walk or transit everywhere. As if I would want to transit to anywhere, hey, it's Chevy Chase. Anyplace else you might go is somehow, well, I dunno... lesser.

by Thomas Hardman on Dec 29, 2009 8:11 pm • link • report