THE RETURN OF THE FRONT PORCH
"Good Fences Make Good Neighbors" was a line made popular in Robert Frost's Mending Wall poem of 1914. Actually, it's a sentiment shared by many cultures and it goes back way before that time period.
Suburban sprawl of the 1950's brought us private backyards, patios, decks, desired privacy and, sometimes, the isolation that came with it.
These days, there are some new housing descriptions popping up in our vocabularies: co-housing, villages, and pocket neighborhoods. Baby boomers are preparing for their senior years and are getting
creative in the process. They would like to restore an old-fashioned sense of community; homes that are safe, secure and in close proximity to their neighbors.
A porch is a structure attached to the front of a house that has a roof overhead and, perhaps, walls, as well. It blends indoor and outdoor living perfectly and it's the perfect place for conversation and relaxed activity.
While rocking gently on a chair or old-fashioned swing set, with a drink in hand, you can watch the world go by and open the door to impromptu neighborly chats. It reminds me of days gone by - city living and our "stoops" where we could idle away an untold number of hours often totaling entire summers.
More and more, as I walk around my neighborhood, I
see new homes constructed with a porch or older homes making this addition. For all intents and purposes, it's the return of the front porch and I'm excited about this trend.
Surely, there's wisdom to the old adage about good fences, but I'm hoping the benefits will more than make up for its detriments.
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