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Note: The Town of Wake Forest allows this issue to be market driven. Some developments such as Shearon Farms and Heritage Wake Forest have provided for a variety of housing types, although in distinct PODs rather than mixed housing types in the same neighborhood or subdivision. The yet to be built Holding Village will be the closest to a true mixed housing development. Economic Segregation In addition to the housing market segmentation mentioned above, there has also developed a stratification of new housing developments according to economic class and, by default, race. Thus, there are separate housing developments for low income, middle income, upper middle income and high income residents. Square footages and home prices are carefully guarded as the numerical gatekeepers of suburban neighborhoods, lest an inferior home of smaller size or value should be allowed to pull down property values. Despite the desegregation initiatives of the past forty years, our society has never been more fragmented in terms of the economic and racial makeup of our neighborhoods. (Note that prior to the mid-twentieth century, carriage houses, garage apartments, and small clusters of townhouses and apartment buildings readily mingled or were within close proximity of single family residences.)
Both in town and site planning it is important to prevent the complete separation of different classes of people which is such a feature of the ... modern town. Mrs. Barnett in her writings has laid special emphasis on this point and has referred to the many evils which result from large areas being inhabited entirely by people of one limited class. Raymond Unwin, 1909
Note: Similar to housing market segmentation, the Town of Wake Forest feels that price points on new housing are best left to the free market system. Some developers have recognized the advantages of having different price points in a single development, in terms of offering product for sale to a broader cross section of the home-buying public. Density of Development Though lot sizes in recent years and in some areas have been coming down in acreage, the predominant forms of development in much of Wake Forest and Wake County continue to be in one of two categories: (1) high density multi-family housing in large apartment, condo, and town house developments or (2) low density single-family residential development which is neither urban nor rural (i.e. 10-20,000 square foot lots). While there are exceptions, the higher density multi-family developments have typically been marketed to lower and middle income buyers and renters while the lower density, larger lot developments have been traditionally geared to the upper income purchaser. Yet, in the face of escalating fuel prices and greater interest in mass transit and bicycling, appropriately designed higher density development would seem to have merit for all income levels. Note: The Town of Wake Forest has no specific policy to promote high quality, higher density development. Indirectly, the planning staff encourages developers to undertake well-designed, higher density projects so as to discourage sprawl and slow down land consumption.
Wake Forest Community Plan