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The Curious Case of the Missing Middle Housing and What Norfolk’s Doing About It

June 18, 2021

Do you ever stroll through the historic areas in Norfolk and think, “Wow, these walkable neighborhoods with a mix of commercial and residential development are just great”?

If you don’t, that’s okay. Unless you’re an urban planner, it’s unlikely that mixed-use neighborhoods get your motor running, but hopefully, this article will change the way you think when you travel around our fair city.

Next Tuesday, City Council is set to vote on an update to the Comprehensive Plan called the “Missing Middle Pattern Book”, which aims to help introduce various types of housing that have gone missing over the past 75 years.

What is Missing Middle Housing, and Where Did it Go?

Essentially, Missing Middle Housing consists of “house-scaled buildings with multiple units in a walkable neighborhood.” These building types like duplexes, fourplexes, and courtyard apartments are known as “missing” because they have been illegal primarily to build since the ’40s, and “middle” because they are in the middle of the spectrum, are single-family homes and large-scale apartment buildings.

Many decades ago, most urban neighborhoods looked like Ghent: a nice mix of commercial uses and housing types. However, next time you’re walking by the Hague or biking through Park Place, you’ll start to notice single-family houses next to duplexes, next to restaurants, next to small apartment buildings.

In the decades following World War II, there was a massive shift to the suburbs. Credit is due to the G.I. Bill allowing millions of (white) soldiers to buy cheap homes, as well as the creation of the Federal Highway System in the ’50s that allowed quick, easy access into downtowns. This phenomenon is now known as “white flight,” and purposeful disinvestment led to the terrible conditions that plagued most significant urban centers during the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s. 

As the suburban development style flourished, most cities also created restrictive zoning rules that only allowed for single-family homes in the wealthy, predominantly white neighborhoods and only multi-family growth in the poor, minority neighborhoods. Because of these regulations, the vast majority of housing built today are single-family homes that are unaffordable to many people. This lack of choice, affordability, and availability forces many people that would otherwise like to purchase their home to stay in the rental market.

What City Council is Voting On and Why it’s Cool

Norfolk City Council is voting to include a new book from the Pattern Project on Missing Middle Housing in their comprehensive plan. At its core, the Pattern book is an architectural guide for non-architects to construct pre-designed structures. This book includes pre-approved plans and renderings for 17 different types of missing middle housing. Each class also has three unique architectural styles to choose from – Traditional, Modern, or Coastal.

Missing Middle is exciting for a few reasons: First, because units are smaller by design, these housing types are more attainable for working people. Second, they provide a broad range of high-quality homes that are sustainably affordable, which is vital as our population ages and housing needs evolve. Third, the entire point of Missing Middle is that they intend to fit into the fabric of existing neighborhoods, even single-family areas. While they may have multiple units, their building construction is similar to single-family homes, which creates a more exciting streetscape from an architectural perspective. Still, they also allow for more diverse neighborhoods.

Additionally, it creates a more prosperous environment for people at all phases of their lives – whether you’re single and looking to strike out on your own, newlyweds buying your first home, or retirees looking to downsize. Lastly, this is an excellent opportunity for more diverse and equitable small business growth. For example, missing Middle is an opportunity for minority contractors to scale up their businesses more efficiently, including single-family homes and missing middle housing types. In addition, since these designs are pre-approved, contractors can build high-quality products without spending extra money on an architect or designer. 

What you can do:

  • Inform yourself further about Missing Middle by visiting their website: https://missingmiddlehousing.com/

  • Tune in to the Norfolk City Council Public Hearing on June 22 at 6 pm

  • Organize a neighborhood walk with your Civic League to identify potential sites, opportunities, and barriers to development

  • Pay attention to Planning Commission and City Council agendas! If you see something you like (or don’t like), let them know!

Who to thank:

These local firms worked to create this pattern book. Follow them to see more of their amazing work. 

WPA (Work Program Architects)

GARC

Dills Architects 

Sources:

Ferguson, Ronald and Dickens, William. “Urban Problems and Community Development.” Washingtonm DC. Brookings Institute, 1999.

Hank Morrison

Ellsworth, NFK

Hank Morrison moved to Norfolk in 2018 after completing his Master’s in Urban and Environmental Planning at UVA. He enjoys running on the ERT, Oregon Ducks football, and mid-century architecture. Hank lives in Ghent with his girlfriend and her blind dog, who is also named Paul.

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