Home zones are residential streets, first conceived in Britain, that are intended for uses other than driving.  Part of a fairly new British planning scheme, home zones have no sidewalks.  They are similar to the Dutch woonerf concept of shared space . Because home zones provide no clear division between pedestrian space and auto space, vehicles must travel with great caution. The concept has begun catching on in other countries, including the U.S.

The purpose of the home zone is to create a safe, well-connected neighborhood [1]. Even though cars are given access, the primary function of home zone streets is social interaction. The street is a place where neighbors chat, the elderly stroll and children play. The car is allowed but is considered a guest [2].  Home zones are not anti-car; they give priority to households and people rather than cars.  

Design Elements for Home Zones

There is no cookie cutter design for a home zone; each community decides upon a unique scheme that best suits its particular needs.  Test neighborhoods in Britain have ranged in size from a few dozen to many hundreds of homes. 

Constructing a home zone involves re-engineering the space around existing houses to make the area more livable for all, in a way that blends public and private property into a cohesive unit.   So far, most home zones are redeveloped neighborhoods rather than brand new subdivisions. 

Home zone streets typically employ constraints that encourage drivers to slow down.   Departing from the normal straight-line pattern, they often feature horizontal barriers to deflect a car’s path.  Another crucial step is to restrict views of the road ahead.  When drivers see no clear route through a neighborhood, they invariably reduce speed.  Long through vistas can be blocked with vertical deflectors, such as trees or sculptures. 

To encourage children to play in the neighborhood, home zones often have games and play equipment built directly into the street surface. 
 

Pilot Projects

In 1999, nine home zone pilot projects were initiated throughout England and Wales.  The British government then sponsored the “Home Zones Challenge” in 2002, granting funds to more than 50 additional schemes for street redesign. 

Morice Town, a blighted suburb of Plymouth in southwest England,  is considered an example of a successful home zone.   It was one of the original 9 pilots supported by the UK Department of Transport.  A number of improvements were applied to the streetscape, which have significantly reduced the area’s high crime rate by increasing community use of the street.  These improvements include: 
 
•    Raised planters
•    Painted brick pathways in the middle of the street
•    Attractive parking spaces that complement building facades
•    The UK’s first 10 mph maximum speed limit [3]

ALSO ON THE LIVABLE STREETS NETWORK

• Streetsblog:  The Battle for Britain's Roads
  

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REFERENCES

Each source is referred to by the same number every time it is cited. Please keep citation style consistent.

[1] Home zones. Department for Transport, United Kingdom.

[2] Jones, Phil. Home Zones. International Home Zones website. September 21, 2000.

[3] City Gets First 10mph Limit.  BBC News.  September 17, 2003.

PICTURE REFERENCES

Pictures are cited in the order they appear above. Please keep citation style consistent.

[1] IHIE Home Zones website

[2] IHIE Home Zones website

FURTHER READING

• Home Zones: Challenging the Future of our Streets. Department of Transport, United Kingdom. 98 pages. PDF available for download here.
  
• Appleyard, B. and L. Cox. 2006. At home in the zone, Planning. October 2006:30-35.

KEYWORDS

shared space, traffic calming, bollards, pedestrian street, pedestrian mall