One of the I’On Group’s distinguishing characteristics is the importance it places on the public realm.  Below, I’On’s founder discusses the role of the public realm in the evolution of a community.

The public realm includes those assets we own in common.  Examples from nature include the air we breathe, and the waters of our lakes, rivers, and oceans.  The most important human built component of the public realm is the street.  Prior to World War II, the street served as a place to gather us together and relate to one another.  It accommodated the automobile, but was not overwhelmed by it.  After World War II, most of our new streets were built for the exclusive use of the automobile.   They took on a more de-humanized form that no longer served as a gathering place.  Where once streets served as community enablers, most streets today are community killers.

At the neighborhood level, an emphasis placed on the design and construction of the public realm does as much for the appeal of the place as do the homes themselves.  When the private realm of the homes and the public realm of the street are mutually complimentary, you end up with a synergistic relationship where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  Consider the realization that when a development promotes privacy, exclusivity, and isolation, each new home built takes away from what is being offered, and those who moved to a place first often resent newcomers who are degrading the amenity they bought into.   In contrast, when a home is built to compliment the public realm, and add to the sense of inclusiveness and neighborhood, each new home enhances what is being offered and the place gets better over time.

Filed under: I'On Group, Urban Sustainability on January 2nd, 2008