Filtering by: Book Club
IncDev Book Club: Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law
Jun
25
11:00 AM11:00
Book Club

IncDev Book Club: Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law

The Color of Law documented how government created residential segregation. Just Action, by Richard and Leah Rothstein, is the blueprint for what we do next — offering concrete strategies for addressing historical inequities at the local level. Joined by co-author Leah Rothstein, this IncDev Book Club brings developers, planners, advocates, and public-sector staff together to explore what it means to move from awareness to action in your own community.

In Conversation with Leah Rothstein

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IncDev Book Club: Pocket Neighborhoods in Existing Communities: How Do These Ideas Take Root Where We’re Already Working?
Feb
19
11:00 AM11:00
Book Club

IncDev Book Club: Pocket Neighborhoods in Existing Communities: How Do These Ideas Take Root Where We’re Already Working?

Pocket Neighborhoods: Creating Small-Scale Community in a Large-Scale World offers an alternative to single-family subdivision development — small clusters of homes where residents can easily know one another, share daily life, and still enjoy privacy.

The final section of the book turns to the challenge of working within places that already exist — neighborhoods shaped by past decisions, established patterns, and current constraints. Rather than proposing large-scale redevelopment, this section focuses on how pocket neighborhood principles can be woven incrementally into existing communities. Join us to explore strategies for inserting small clusters of homes, shared spaces, and social patterns into ordinary contexts: suburban lots, alleys, underused parcels, and evolving neighborhoods.

In Conversation with Ross Chapin

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IncDev Book Club: Pocket Neighborhoods: Cohousing Communities: How Much Intentionality Is Enough?
Feb
12
11:00 AM11:00
Book Club

IncDev Book Club: Pocket Neighborhoods: Cohousing Communities: How Much Intentionality Is Enough?

Pocket Neighborhoods: Creating Small-Scale Community in a Large-Scale World offers an alternative to single-family subdivision development — small clusters of homes where residents can easily know one another, share daily life, and still enjoy privacy.

The third part of the book examines cohousing communities as a model for intentional neighborhood building, where residents actively participate in designing and governing their shared spaces. These examples show how communities can be built around shared values and commitments to neighborliness, offering lessons for anyone interested in creating pocket neighborhoods with strong social bonds at their foundation. Join us to engage in questions about how much intentionality and resident participation makes sense for the communities you want to build.

In Conversation with Ross Chapin

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IncDev Book Club: Pocket Neighborhoods: Contemporary Pocket Neighborhoods: What Actually Works in Practice?
Feb
5
11:00 AM11:00
Book Club

IncDev Book Club: Pocket Neighborhoods: Contemporary Pocket Neighborhoods: What Actually Works in Practice?

Pocket Neighborhoods: Creating Small-Scale Community in a Large-Scale World offers an alternative to single-family subdivision development — small clusters of homes where residents can easily know one another, share daily life, and still enjoy privacy.

The second part of the book showcases contemporary pocket neighborhoods, asking how their essential patterns translate into real projects today. These examples show how small clusters of homes — often built as infill or modest-scale developments — can succeed socially and financially when design decisions are made with care. In this session, we’ll explore how factors such as site layout, parking placement, shared outdoor space, and thresholds between private and common life shape daily interactions. Join us to discuss the practical lessons, tradeoffs, and decisions that matter most for developers, designers, and planners working within contemporary constraints.

In Conversation with Ross Chapin

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IncDev Book Club: Pocket Neighborhoods: Introduction + Precedents: Why Pocket Neighborhoods, Why Now?
Jan
29
11:00 AM11:00
Book Club

IncDev Book Club: Pocket Neighborhoods: Introduction + Precedents: Why Pocket Neighborhoods, Why Now?

Pocket Neighborhoods: Creating Small-Scale Community in a Large-Scale World offers an alternative to single-family subdivision development — small clusters of homes where residents can easily know one another, share daily life, and still enjoy privacy.

The book begins by defining what Pocket Neighborhoods are, then addresses the fundamental question: why do so many people feel isolated in so-called “neighborhoods”? We’ll look back historic pocket neighborhood precedents as a source of instruction rather than nostalgia. Drawing from examples such as Dutch hofjes, bungalow courts, and early Garden City neighborhoods, we’ll explore what these places reveal about scale, shared space, and daily interaction — and what still applies today. Join us as we consider how these long-standing patterns help explain the renewed relevance of pocket neighborhoods, especially for practitioners working within real-world constraints.

In Conversation with Ross Chapin

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