Which Way: OPEN SPACE IN DENSE CITIES: COURTYARD HOUSING

We spent today in Granada touring the Alhambra and walking through city. One of the things that struck me today is how dense the housing is here, but yet how much access there still is to high quality open space, which is key keeping children happy and healthy in a dense urban setting. Two key contributions to open space here: courtyard housing and plazas. More on plazas in a future blog. For now, a bit on courtyard housing:

As you can see from the picture below (if you look closely at least), much of the older housing here in Granada was developed around a central private courtyard. The houses were originally occupied by one family, most likely, but now typically consist of several apartments that all share the common courtyard.

Courtyard housing is a style of housing that dates back many thousands of years to some of the earliest urban settlements and was common in ancient Roman times as well as Islamic architecture. What excites me about courtyard housing is its resurgence in newer apartment developments as a way to provide high quality and safe access open space for families living in a dense urban setting (a small balcony doesn't cut it). As a reporter from the L.A. Times wrote in an excellent article 7 years ago, "The courtyard apartment is an idea whose time has come back. Amid today's high-rise building trend, the need for such urban oases -- infused with a communal spirit -- is greater than ever." I am especially excited about the opportunities to develop more of these courtyards in Austin in a way that is attractive enough to draw families with children back to the urban core.

The City of Portland even hosted a design competition to induce more development of this form of housing for families with children. There are many other examples of "courtyard apartments" across the U.S. and Europe, including these from Copenhagen and San Francisco.

More photos below from our time in Granada today, which centered on a tour of the Alhambra and then recovering from our tour of the Alhambra. The Alhambra is a enormous complex of palaces and fortresses constructed and occupied by the Islamic rulers of Granada starting in the 1300s (until the Catholic monarchs, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand and their forces, drove them out in 1492). The pictures below really can't do justice to capturing the immensity and beauty of the Alhambra. For more info on the Alhambra and its historical and architectural significance, here is a wiki link. Oh, and I don't want to forget adding this: Bill joined us yesterday. We are thrilled to have him here with us.