Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/380056
Community ne 110 nshoremag.com October 2014 photographs courtesy of windover construction T Living in the Round A groundbreaking new community is kind to a fragile coastal ecosystem. By Regina Cole New Neighbors The Summer Hill community treads lightly on its enviroment. he new cluster of one-and-a-half story houses gathered around a central green in Manchester-by-the-Sea is as un- likely as it is appealing: Summer Hill is the neighborhood that, if history had gone in a straight line, would never have happened. Cluster developments are not new: Me- dieval villagers followed an ancient tradi- tion when they built homes close together for protection and companionship, sur- rounding them with communally worked farmland. Cities are cluster developments on a massive scale. In fact, building homes close together was the model for com- munity development until Americans adopted cars. After that, a single-family house surrounded by its own piece of private land became the ideal: each home- owner the lord of his manor. The downside was suburban sprawl that altered the American landscape. Vi- sionaries looked back to the ancient tradi- tions to design developments with homes gathered close together, and surrounded by land used as open space or for recrea- tion. Towns like Manchester-by-the-Sea enacted cluster zoning ordinances de- signed to protect the environment while maintaining scenic beauty. Manchester-by-the-Sea is a quiet sea- side town known for leafy neighborhoods, good schools, a charming town center, a superb little harbor, and the beautiful and