Water Tower Housing

Someone in the Netherlands has made apartments out of an old water tower. And apparently, they're not the only ones. How gorgeous and ingenious is this? It's a grown-up tree-house.

This patio on the top looks like a fabulous blender.

A Little Real Estate Voyeurism

There's an interesting article in the NY Times about the things people leave behind when they move out. Mostly we're talking a roll of toilet paper or a half eaten jar of mustard. But there are some rather deviant and sort of disgusting items that people are leaving behind (false teeth, handcuffs, a bottle of Valium).

Note to the height challenged: check the top shelf of the closet before you leave.

Via Apartment Therapy.

Subdivided: My Review

I watched Dean Terry's documentary, "Subdivided," last night. The film took a look at the effect of urban sprawl on society, focusing on the East Dallas neighborhood of Little Forrest Hills, which maintains an amazing sense of community in a world where most of us never even speak to our neighbors.

The film made some excellent points about the negative aspects of our sprawling cities, like isolation from our friends and neighbors, increased commutes, and increased frustration. According to Terry, every 10 minutes we add to our commute decreases time spent in social activities like family dinners and parties by 10%.

Unfortunately, instead of exploring solutions to these problems that could be implemented by city planners, neighborhood associations, or residents, Terry spent too much of the documentary interviewing zealously anti-suburban Little Forrest Hills residents about the ills of Plano, which I felt took away some of the film's credibility. Overall, I would recommend catching the documentary when it re-airs, even though that's going to be this Saturday at 3 am.

Subdivided: Documentary on Urban Sprawl Airs Tonight

Dean Terry's documentary "Subdivided," which focuses on suburban sprawl, isolation, and community, airs tonight at 8 pm on the Dallas PBS station, KERA. The film features footage of Dallas, as Terry is a professor at UTD. According to the D Home blog, Robert Wilonsky at the Observer, called the documentary, "absolutely beautiful."

Where are Dallas' Horse Communities?

I stumbled across this NYT article about a Burbank, CA community that is fighting to keep Whole Foods out because they are worried about increased car traffic in a neighborhood where people are inclined to trot about on horse-back. What I can't believe is that LA has a neighborhood with a barn and Dallas really doesn't. I know there is a small barn near White Rock Lake and a few small barns in Garland (which is not on my list of places I'd love to live), and one in Las Colinas (which is sooooo expensive) but nothing like what is pictured here.

I've scoured new community listings and have yet to find a new equestrian-friendly community going up anywhere. What if you want to ride and enjoy the city life?

Has anyone run across a good near-town barn lately?