Tag Archives: Woodhill

Day 59-Clusters, not blocks

day 59 Today took me to an area near Woodhill park, not far from the area I visited on Day 3.   On that day, I actually walked through two distinct areas, the southernmost of which was the same neighborhood, Shadow Wood, that made up all of today’s walk. This area was built in the 80’s and a common design is a shed roof or a similar offset roof that is unique.  Many of these homes still have wooden batten siding that I assume was originally present throughout.  Most houses have been upgraded to vinyl siding.  Another feature of this neighborhood is that the layout results in clusters of houses more than blocks of houses (especially on the west side of Woodhill), where clusters along a street are essentially connected at the back.  This is similar to the neighborhood from Day 19.   Most houses feel like they have multiple “next door” neighbors.  This may or may not have resulted in an increased sense of community, but it seems like a neat experiment.

One of the neat things about this project will be seeing the same neighborhood at different times of year to see how it changes.  Generally, yards are a neat communication tool, a projection of the occupants.  Sometimes blending in or simply being unintrusive offers as much information as standing out.  Gardens and lawns have already taken a back seat to seasonal decorations (and it’ll be interesting to see how different residential areas address the dismal depths of winter, after Christmas decorations come down).   A few homes here offered some hints on how this might be done with colorful, non-holiday-specific flags and similar yard decorations.  Mostly, though, yards here tend toward the inconspicuous.  So, this neighborhood (at least as seen in November) seems to be cozy and introverted.

Day 28

day28Today took me to an area roughly between Palumbo and Woodhill, just outside New Circle Road.  I knew that Palumbo is very industrial in this area (which borders the RJ Corman line) but wasn’t sure what else I’d find.  It turns out that the industrial properties on Palumbo back right up to residences on Mirahill, and this is part of the Woodhill neighborhood.  This area seems quiet and unassuming, with lots of toys in yards, probably quieter than usual on a rainy afternoon like today.

For Lease signage along Codell
For Lease signage along Codell

Similar to Mirahill/Palumbo, Codell is a clear dividing line between uses, with commercial uses on the east side (a fairly successful strip mall facing New Circle Road and very empty office/commercial space facing Codell,) and apartments and condos on the west side.  This area seems pretty well connected; a bus runs down Woodhill and Codell, surely there are plenty of jobs in the area.  Nonetheless, the apparent vacancy rate of the commercial space isn’t really shocking based on age and appearance.  It’s not easy to compete with new.  One has to view this area as an opportunity.

The good: nice mix of uses

The bad: commercial space isn’t creating opportunity

Day 3

Day 3 of my pilot walking took me to the area around Woodhill Park and (much like Day 2) near the industrial corridor along the  RJ Corman tracks.  Today’s walk took me through portions of two distinct neighborhoods with apparently different periods of construction, though both neighborhoods were typically suburban.  Today was my first experience with long cul-de-sacs, something that I’m finding are present in many of the neighborhoods built in the last five decades or so.  Cul-de-sacs are an interesting problem for me as someone who is in essence just taking a stroll through a neighborhood.  If I’m trying to get somewhere, I’m definitely going to avoid cul-de-sacs, but even if I’m strolling, my instinct is to avoid them because, well, it’s just awkward to walk down a street, then turn around and walk back.  But this is exactly what I did, several times. today.  Cul-de-sacs are intentional, a way to keep traffic and strangers off a street.  They feel safe to walk on, but I think that someday, someone is going to ask me what I’m doing!

My favorite aspect of today’s walk were the set of homes along Larkwood facing the park, pairs of detached houses with combined garages.