Walking Rain

I said I would not move to another planned urban development, or P.U.D., after living in one for 13 years, but here we are, moving to a homeowner's association in Santa Fe.

I guess it's our comfort zone; we want the amenities and we can abide the rules and the dues, and it's hard to find nice neighborhoods in the city that are not in associations. We are too old for a rural life outside of town and our means are too modest for freestanding big homes in more upscale neighborhoods

So, an association. A development. 

It's called Nava Adé , which is a Tewa Indian phrase meaning “belonging to the land.” It's a tidy subdivision of single-family houses with plenty of open space and streets laid out to respect the rolling terrain. 

What differentiates Nava Adé from similar subdivisons, however, is its provision for 35 percent of the 600 units to be classified as “affordable.” 

That the developer accomplished this with house designs, amenities, sizes, and materials associated with higher-end houses; and densities, site planning, and neighborhood amenities reserved for upper-income communities, is noteworthy. They won awards for this in the early 2000s.

Traditional, indigenous housing styles in an area that prizes regional and Old Santa Fe styles is a rare thing to find in a new development. We just like how it all looks and we liked the efficiency and style of each house we saw there.

With a third of the closely clustered homes "affordable" and small, we will have a mix of neighbors. And families, and kids. Our street terminates at the entrance to the school, so there will be children and lots of activity (probably cars, no one walks to school any more, do they?)

And what captured my attention were the street names in the whole development: Hidden Cricket, Dancing Ground, Soaring Eagle, Lost Feather, Leaping Rabbit, River Song, Laughing Crow --- it all makes Jim's eyes twitch, but I love the names!

Our street is Walking Rain.

Anyone who has spent time in big sky country knows how rain showers in the distance look like they are moving across the horizon, almost as if walking across the big landscape.

Jim can roll his eyes all he wants, I think it's a stunning visual and a wonderful name for the street we will live on.

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Here are excerpts from an architectural school case study of the Nava Ade development that I thought was interesting:

Santafesinos are serious about their heritage and history. Santa Fe was an ancient settlement of 100,000 Pueblo Indians when it was established as the capital of Spain’s colonies north of Mexico in 1610, a decade before Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. By the time New Mexico gained U.S. statehood in 1912, Santa Fe had been the capital of the territory under Spanish, Mexican, Confederate, and U.S. rule for an unbroken 300 years. Santafesinos identify closely with their history and zealously guard the concept of an Old Santa Fe style.

Through informal citizens’ associations and through municipal agencies, they nurture a distinct attitude toward local period-based residential architecture, loosely codified as Old Santa Fe style. With this sensitized awareness of the historical and cultural context comes an equally strong awareness of the physical and environmental context.

Living in the desert, Santafesinos have been foremost practitioners of water conservation measures for decades. Cognizance of two contexts—cultural and physical—has influenced land development in Santa Fe, resulting in a self-imposed limit on growth. Despite this, the region has continued to attract newcomers and tourists. Constraining growth has most influenced the stock of affordable housing; Nava Adé was conceived and developed to address this shortage directly. It has been carried out without the use of public funds, offering as authentic a version of the Old Santa Fe style as houses in the mid- to high-end market, and it has been a financial success story for the developer and for residents. 

Santafesinos value the look and feel of Old Santa Fe, most often achieved in higher-end neighborhoods. Elements of this style extend beyond architecture—they encompass a holistic view of community that includes street dimensions and layout, house and lot orientation, terrain preservation, and density variations. The developer believed that this could be accomplished in an affordable housing development by basing the master plan on cues from the terrain.

Unlike subdivisions that maximize the number of lots by creating streets that do not reflect the topography, terrain-based models attempt to optimize the way in which a development fits on the land. “After World War II, the idea was to scrape the ground flat and make a cookie-cutter subdivision. We’re trying not to do that. We want to work with the terrain,” says Andrew Gerber, a partner in Auerbach Southwest. “Wagons used to travel on the tops of ridges and rolling hills, with homesteads built near the trails. Water would flow down into the valleys, creating a ridge-valley pattern with winding trails along the natural terrain.” Nava Adé re-created this pattern with houses built along higher areas, and valleys were used for water reclamation and drainage. Over 37 acres (15 hectares) are dedicated to open public space accessible from any home. The streets are narrow and winding, reflecting an Old Santa Fe feel.

The terrain-based model required moving and saving over 2,000 native piñon and juniper trees. Rainwater runs from main streets to smaller roads, draining into open spaces and feeding the natural vegetation. An extensive trail system throughout the community is maintained and enhanced for the enjoyment of all homeowners.

The absence of grid-patterned streets reflects an emphasis away from automobiles. Consequently, garages are detached and set back from the houses, with sidewalks and front porches encouraging pedestrian traffic and children to play in front yards.