New Urbanism Development Creates a Sustainable Community
Norton Commons, home of Su Verde, the Proud Green Home of Louisville
Norton Commons, site of the Proud Green Home of Louisville, encompasses a 600-acre plan in northeast Louisville and has matured into one of the most successful New Urbanist communities in the South.
The overall mission of Norton Commons is to provide its residents with More Life Per Square Foot by maximizing space and improving the overall comfort of the families who live, work, and play within the neighborhood according to Marilyn Osborn Patterson, general counsel and director of marketing for the community.
The community is home to more than 3,000 residents, three schools (including a new public elementary) and dozens of parks, playgrounds, pools, bike paths and green spaces. About half of the more than 60 business owners in the community are residents.
"New Urbanism is the most important design movement in recent memory because it focuses on the creation and the restoration of communities that are diverse, mixed-use, walkable communities that foster a sense of sustainability and community in an integrated style, which hasn’t been done in America for the past 50 years or so," Patterson says.
Using a New Urbanism approach led the design of the neighborhood to reflect the way in which villages and communities of old were centered around a town center and then spread out from there.
"The most dense aspect of the neighborhood is certainly in the middle and then it gets less dense from the town center," Patterson says. "Architecturally we have several architecture styles. They all have their bases in traditional regional architecture. So we have basically five styles, and if you look around, you can see these styles echoed in old neighborhoods in Louisville, Cincinnati, and Nashville."
The development has also made a commitment to use geothermal heating and cooling in 1,800 homes andcommercial space in the North Village, replacing traditional fossil fuel powered systems.
The developers of Norton Commons chose to use geothermal heating and cooling to provide homeowners with significant energy savings, improve comfort, maximize space, reduce the noise of outdoor units and decrease environmental impact.
The Proud Green Home of Louisville is one of the homes using geothermal heating and cooling. The geothermal HVAC system will help the home meets many of its goals, including energy efficiency, indoor air quality and healthy living. The home will pursue LEED for Homes, Passive House, Zero Energy Ready, and NAHB Green Building Standard certifications.
Topics: Building Green, Certification / LEED, Geothermal Heating & Cooling, Going Green, Healthy Homes, Home Design & Plans, Interior Design, Proud Green Home of Louisville, Sustainability Trends & Statistics, Sustainable Communities