Kegger Time in Bradburn Village

Bradburn residents wheel their portable keg cart to one of their weekly park parties

In New Urbanist communities, garages are at the rear, the houses are close to the street and they all have big, usable front porches. We have found in our old Toronto neighbourhood that it really does encourage social interaction among neighbours, including partying together occasionally; In Bradburn Village in Westminster, Colorado, they do it every week. Sober reporting from Fermentarium notes:

Standard suburban design, with housing separated from retail and office uses, forces people to drive for their every need, no matter how small. One glass of wine in a nice establishment involves a minimum 10 minute car ride in most of suburbia, and any more to drink requires the presence of a designated driver. But things are changing, a neighborhood planning movement called new urbanism is creating communities all across the U.S. with design features that reduce the risk of drunk driving, so you can live in the suburbs and drink your beer too!

Every Friday night, residents of the new urbanist community Bradburn Village in Westminster, Colorado gather for their weekly park party. Adults socialize over beer and wine while the kids play together. Bradburn is designed to encourage social interaction among neighbors, and judging by the packed park parties and the incredible number of social events here, it works.

We credit good urban design with a lot of virtues, but this is one we had not thought of. Pass the beer at ::Fermentarium via ::BoingBoing