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have open space about them for farming, horticulture, or the raising of livestock. There are neither housing developments on the outskirts, nor commercial strips along the roadways.
Instead, there is a great sense of place and a great sense of community.
Thus, as one comes upon a traditional village, its pastoral setting produces a very pleasing effect. A curving road helps out. Instead of people looking straight ahead down a roadway “tunnel,” drivers and pedestrians see homes, small stores, people out and about, including children and pets. And once entered, many villages have a natural focal point, such as a church, a village green, a cluster of shops and homes, or a distant vista.
The traditional village or hamlet also has plenty of large trees about, for shade in the summer time and some protection from light rain and snow in season. It is interesting to note that in the 1894 act to incorporate Washington, Va., the town council was “to provide and protect shade trees” on streets, alleys, and sidewalks.
Flowers, shrubs, hedges, small parks, and places to sit, add to the natural effect of a village. In many cases, such usage came about as part of the “town beautification movement” of the 1890s. If a river or stream is nearby, there are additional sights and sounds to add to a village’s attractiveness. Village buildings are small and in harmony with one another. It has been found that houses 75 feet or less across from each other on a roadway allow people to talk to one another. In the old days, people would sit out on their porches and meet and greet neighbors.
Most traditional villages and hamlets have wide sidewalks, narrow roads, light traffic, low speed limits, and in the evening streetlights come on.
There are no wide expanses of asphalt in front of buildings. Such villages have a warm, lived-in feeling about them, developed over decades, even centuries. They show that the people living there cared and still care about how their home town looks.
The key to defining a traditional village or hamlet is its human scale.
Almost everything is within easy walking distance. Nelessen notes that people will walk
See OPINION, Page A6
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