Culdesac also nurtures a lively street life. Around 21 small businesses operate here, including a James Beard-nominated Mexican restaurant, DIY ceramics and candle-making studios, a bike shop, and a sustainable clothing store. Some of the shop owners live in Culdesac, and special zoning rules allow residents to run businesses out of their apartments – a boon for budding entrepreneurs. On market days, live music drifts through the paseos while visitors browse handmade ceramics and snack on Najavo-inspired blue corn croissants from ReddHouse bakery.
“Once you pull the cars out,” Parolek says, “there’s so much more opportunity to make a vibrant, thriving community.”
Pedestrianisation also fosters frequent encounters among neighbours, business owners and visitors, helping mitigate another malaise partly caused by car-centric living: loneliness. Though Culdesac is technically an apartment complex, “it definitely feels more like a neighbourhood”, Murdock says.
And because Culdesac’s mission attracts eco-conscious and socially engaged residents, the community naturally bonds over shared values, Murdock says. “It’s like finding your people,” she adds.
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