The city of Newark, located half an hour west of New York, was particularly affected by the social unrest that resulted in widespread rioting in many large urban centers of America during the summer of 1968.  Large areas of the city were burned and in the reconstruction effort that followed under the Urban Renewal program, many large apartment towers were built, surrounded with open spaces according to the principle of orthodox Modernist urban planning.  These developments proved to be of limited long term effectiveness however, and by the early 1990’s, the deterioration of these buildings and the social problems attendant on them had become so acute that many were demolished by implosion explosives when they proved to be unsalvageable.

In response, the city of Newark began to look to older neighborhoods for alternative housing models.  Many of these areas contained vacant land where blight had caused property abandonment and the city had acquired lots through tax default.

One such area was the Elizabeth Valley section to the southwest of Newark, a modest neighborhood of framed houses with enough housing still intact to create a viable community, but with numerous empty lots which threatened its fragile prosperity with increasing criminal activity.

Through a Housing and Urban Development program, 16 sites were acquired in the area, on which 94 units of housing could be built.  The units were to be a mix of three, four and five bedroom  houses.

The design is based on an analysis of the remaining housing stock, which showed that the community consisted of wood framed buildings of either two or three stories, in which the smaller buildings tended to have the gable parallel with the street and the larger buildings tended to have the gable perpendicular to the street.  From these housing types a simplified taxonomy of three units was developed which could be arranged in rows to fit different site geometries and constructed by off-site, prefabricated modular housing techniques.  Two handicap accessible versions were also developed, along with a new community center.

Using these types, the units were placed on the 16 sites taking account of urban conditions such as corners, streets, intersections, and access for parking.   Walkways were designed along the rear of the units for pedestrian access to new play areas.  The groupings varied from as few as three to as many as 16.

By building housing units based on enduring residential typologies, the new construction could be readily absorbed into the neighborhood.  In this way the vacant lots were filled in and an appropriate density was achieved that permitted successful urban habitation and an effective experience of belonging.