Young and old happy to trade suburban living for Lakeside

Story originally published in February 2013

Beginning in 2014, residents of Lakeside started shaping a new kind of Flower Mound community — one where the aspiring can live near the retiring, young singles share the trail with boomer couples, wannabes sip coffee next to been-there-done-thats. Young and old together.

They live on 60′ lots and 30′ lots, in lofts above retail, apartments, and in mid-rise condominiums overlooking Lake Grapevine. And soon, in high-rise apartments overlooking Lake Grapevine as well as in Mediterranean Villas on 40′ lots.

In just three years (2013 – 2015), homebuyers gobbled up the 235+ single-family home lots. They decided to trade the privacy, singularity, and tranquility of subdivisions for the openness, diversity, and energy of the community.

Lakeside’s homeowners and apartment dwellers hold the keys to build on the community’s promise.

As a series of stories from the Project for Public Spaces suggests, vibrancy “not only requires people, it is defined by how people interact.”

“Every neighborhood — every plaza, square, park, waterfront, market, and street — can be vibrant if people feel like they can contribute to shaping their places.”

“Vibrancy is young and old people,” continues the story, “it cannot be built or installed.” Instead, it must be “inspired and cultivated.”

“When people feel encouraged to participate in shaping the life of a space, it creates the kind of open atmosphere that attracts more and more people. In their inclusiveness, our greatest places mirror the dynamics of a truly democratic society.”

The introduction to the Guide to Neighborhood Placemaking in Chicago (written for the Metropolitan Planning Council), the organization declared, “placemaking allows communities to see how their insight and knowledge fits into the broader process of making change. It allows them to become proactive vs. reactive, and positive vs. negative.

“Simply put, placemaking allows regular young and old people to make extraordinary improvements, big or small, in their communities.”

The people of Flower Mound played a key role in making Lakeside DFW possible. It falls on Lakeside’s residents to fulfill the promise of their community.

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