Coving

From PlanningWiki

Coving is a method of subdivision characterized by non-uniform lot shapes and home placement. When combined with winding roads, lot area is increased and road area reduced. Coving is used as an alternative to conventional "grid" subdivision layout in order to reduce costs, such as road surfacing, while improving aesthetics.

History

Coving was pioneered by Minneapolis-based urban designer Rick Harrison. His design intent was that no two houses look directly into each others windows. The name comes from coves of green spaces among the homes which are made possible by winding roads and staggered setbacks.

Advantages and disadvantages

A coved layout reduces construction costs by reducing roadway, thereby lowering paving and utility-line costs. The reduction in road surface adds usable land for lots. Other benefits are increased pedestrian safety due to less road, along with fewer intersections. Individual properties also gain aesthetic value from the separate meandering setback lines, sidewalks, and roadways.

Several disadvantages to coving are that it requires houses to have a greater set-back from the street, requires larger lots and does not account for mixed use and walkability, decreases the street and pedestrian connectivity of a tract to its surroundings and increases suburban sprawl while leaving little or no public open space.

Design

Designing coved developments is technically difficult. Specialized software is used and designers need several years of experience to become proficient. The design isn't feasible for narrow tracts of land, and house footprints need to be less than 85% of the lot size.