“Porching”- Buffalo Gets It

by westcoastperspective

Usable front porches a long-time standard for city homes are now making inroads in the ‘burbs. The unique transitional space of a front porch adds value and livability to existing homes, character to the streetscape, and makes neighborhoods safer by placing more eyes on the street. Front porches also become the setting of some of our favorite life’s memories. They connect us to not only our outdoor environment but also to the social realm that surrounds us. Porches are seen as an important part of city life. Minneapolis even had a design competition to build a free front porch on a home in need of one!

It used to be that people knew their neighbors. They would wave to them from their front porches and meet them while their children played in a park or on the street. That longing for days gone by is now the hottest trend in residential development: New Urbanism. New Urbanism promotes the creation and restoration of diverse, walkable, compact, mixed-use communities with homes close to the street and generous-sized porches.

Sitting on the porch is also seen as therapeutic. University of Louisville School of Medicine professor John Buchino has written a book on the subject. It is called “Porching: A Humorous Look at America’s Favorite Pastime.” The Arizona Republic picks up on the trend:

Doing nothing is the very heart of what folks have taken to calling "porching." It's a newly minted term, but an old pastime…"Porching is a way to recharge your batteries," says Buchino. "Most people in America move at a fast pace and I don't think we take time out enough. (Porching) may look like you're doing nothing, but actually, you're taking time to relax, reflect, and to be conscious of the world around you," he says.

Of late, porching has enjoyed a renaissance, thanks in part to neo-traditional neighborhoods where porches are coming back strong after falling from favor after World War II. Porching also is earning cheers in mature neighborhoods where thirty-somethings are re-embracing a vestigial part of their youth.

"Porches are very valuable to building community," Buchino says. "If you're out on your front porch sitting, you're seeing neighbors pass by. They say 'Hello' to you and you say 'Hi' to them, and over time you get to know them, rather than staying in your car, pushing a button, and going into the garage and never seeing each other."

Porching became a way of life as porches spread like kudzu across America by the late 19th and early 20th century. American porches, explains Michael Dolan in his book, "The American Porch: An Informal History of an Informal Place," largely were influenced by the homes slaves built when they first arrived in America around 1620. These essentially African villages featured elevated homes with a roomlike elevated space fronting the outside of the structure. By the 1920s, porches had seen their architectural heyday. After World War II, the spread of air conditioning, cars, and a craving for privacy largely erased porches from America's blueprint.

I have special memories of one particular front porch. My grandmother’s front porch was the gathering spot for her block of Burgard Place. Several of Gram’s neighbors were also relatives. I had two grown cousins and two aunts and uncles that also lived on the block. Best of all was what was on her porch: A pink-cushioned, heavy steel glider, which she also called (incorrectly?) 'the davenport.' We put a lot of miles on it. Special times they were.

So Porch sitters take heart. Sitting on the porch is healthy for you and your neighborhood!