Revitalizing Neighborhoods by the 'Book'

One way Virginia Beach plans on including the community in its revitalization effort is by encouraging its participation in the creation of its first pattern book.

BY: Tina Trenkner | April 22, 2009

Neighborhood revitalization and preservation is one of Virginia Beach's priorities. Through its PREmier Homes and Neighborhoods program, the city hopes to cultivate community ownership of the revitalization process. One way the city plans on including the community is by encouraging its participation in the creation of its first pattern book. This "book" will actually be an online tool, offering residents guidelines and examples of designs and patterns that are characteristic of homes and neighborhoods in Virginia Beach, with the goal of encouraging those who might renovate their homes to voluntarily consider designs that are complementary to their neighborhoods. To gather material for the "book," each neighborhood will have a representative who will upload photos of local homes to a photo Web site. The city will use those photos to identify the different designs in Virginia Beach, as well as to serve as design examples. Training sessions have been scheduled for participating citizens in April and May, and the department expects to launch the book online this summer.

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