What is a Traditional Neighborhood Development? Often abbreviated as TND, it is a community planning approach that draws inspiration from older neighborhoods and established small towns, where homes, businesses, parks, and civic buildings and spaces are located close together and woven into everyday life.
When thoughtfully adapted to its setting, a TND can also work with the existing landscape, concentrating development in a way that preserves trees, natural vegetation, and shared green space.
How Is a TND Different from Other Residential Developments?
Imagine living in a neighborhood with walkable streets, courtyards, inviting parks and common areas, a variety of homes, and welcoming streetscapes, all thoughtfully designed to help you connect with nature and your neighbors.
Key components of a TND may include:
- Connected streets and sidewalks
- Walkable blocks
- Homes positioned closer to the street
- Front porches and entrances facing public spaces
- Narrower streets and on-street parking designed to slow traffic
- Parks, courtyards, trails, and other shared areas
- Different home sizes and property types
- Residential, civic, and limited commercial uses
- Garages and private parking positioned behind or beside buildings when practical
The objective is to create a cohesive neighborhood where homes, streets, landscaping, public spaces, and nearby destinations work together while maintaining variety and individuality.
Conventional residential developments often prioritize vehicle access, privacy, and separation. Homes may be positioned farther from the street and from one another, with larger setbacks, prominent front-facing garages, limited sidewalks, and few shared destinations. Although this arrangement provides more private space, it can also create a more isolated pattern of living, reduce opportunities for casual interaction, and make driving necessary for most activities.
A TND offers a different balance by creating a setting in which privacy and individuality coexist with walkability and connection.
How Does a TND Support Connectivity?
In a TND, sidewalks, streets, and walking trails connect homes with parks, courtyards, common areas, and other parts of the neighborhood. In communities like Sanctuary Village in downtown Franklin, NC, that connectivity extends beyond the neighborhood to shops, restaurants, civic buildings, and community activities. Walking then becomes a practical and enjoyable part of daily life rather than simply a form of exercise.
The benefit is not limited to trips made on foot. Even when residents choose to drive, a downtown location keeps everyday destinations close and makes it easier to run an errand, attend an event, or meet someone without planning around a long drive. In a more remote setting, the distance to town can make the same outing feel less convenient.
Narrower streets and on-street parking encourage slower traffic and help protect pedestrians. Porches, entrances, and windows facing the street, together with thoughtful landscaping, create a welcoming environment, while rear garages and alleys prevent driveways and garage doors from dominating the streetscape.
Together, these features make walking safer and more inviting while creating natural opportunities to connect with neighbors and the broader community.
Why Are Parks and Shared Spaces Important in a TND?
Parks, trails, courtyards, and preserved natural areas give residents access to outdoor spaces beyond their individual homesites. These areas become extensions of the home, providing places to walk, sit outdoors, enjoy the landscape, or spend time with other residents.
Their value often appears in ordinary moments. A nearby park creates an easy destination after dinner. A courtyard offers a place to pause, read, or have a conversation. A trail provides an opportunity to connect with nature without planning a separate outing. Over time, these small opportunities can become meaningful parts of daily life.
In a mountain community, concentrating homes within a thoughtfully planned area can leave more land available for parks, trails, and preserved natural areas. Residents can enjoy and connect with the surrounding landscape without each homeowner having to own and maintain a large private parcel.
Sanctuary Village’s ridgetop park illustrates this principle. Rather than reserving one of the property’s most prominent locations for a small number of premium homesites, the master plan preserves it as a common area for everyone in the community to enjoy. This choice makes one of the property’s defining natural features accessible to all residents, regardless of where their home is located.
What Types of Homes Are Found in a TND?
A Traditional Neighborhood Development may include a variety of home sizes and property types. Depending on the community and its zoning, these can include cottages, detached homes, condominiums, apartments, carriage houses, and residences incorporated into live-work buildings.
This variety allows a neighborhood to accommodate different households and changing needs without separating every type of residence into an isolated area. A smaller cottage may suit one household, while another may need additional bedrooms, a home office, guest accommodations, or flexible living space.
A variety of housing does not mean the community lacks consistency. Architectural guidelines can establish a common framework for building placement, streetscapes, parking, landscaping, and exterior design. Individual homes can vary while still contributing to the overall character of the neighborhood.
What Is Franklin’s Traditional Neighborhood Overlay?
The Town of Franklin has a Traditional Neighborhood Overlay zoning classification intended for developments that reflect TND principles appropriate to their surroundings.
The ordinance emphasizes pedestrian-oriented design through features such as safe walking conditions, narrower streets, on-street parking, homes positioned closer to the street, parks, civic spaces, limited commercial uses, alleys, and streetscapes designed at a pedestrian scale.
It also allows an approved regulating plan and neighborhood code to define the community’s residential, commercial, mixed-use, and civic buildings; streets and alleys; parking arrangements; setbacks; landscaping; and architectural standards.
This framework provides more flexibility than conventional residential zoning while requiring the different parts of the development to be considered together. It also permits certain compatible commercial and professional uses, including live-work buildings with businesses on the ground floor and residences above.
Are There TNDs in Western North Carolina?
Two examples of TND communities n Western North Carolina are the Village of Cheshire and Sanctuary Village. Located just outside Black Mountain, the Village of Cheshire integrates homes with a walkable village center, businesses, shared spaces, and recreational amenities. Sanctuary Village adapts TND principles to its downtown Franklin setting, connecting a residential community with parks, trails, common areas, Historic Main Street, and the Little Tennessee River Greenway. These communities demonstrate how the same planning principles can be adapted to different mountain settings.
How Is Sanctuary Village in Franklin, NC a TND?
Sanctuary Village is a 24-acre master-planned community in downtown Franklin, North Carolina, a few blocks from Historic Main Street and the Little Tennessee River Greenway.
Its plan brings together homes, homesites, sidewalks, paved streets, parks, walking trails, courtyards, preserved green space, and gathering areas. Approximately 40% of the property is preserved as parks and green space. Public water and sewer, underground electric utilities, natural gas, and high-speed internet are available throughout the community.
Front porches are a defining characteristic of homes at Sanctuary Village, helping create welcoming streetscapes and natural connections between private homes and shared spaces. There is also no minimum home-size requirement. Buyers may build a modest cottage or a larger custom residence, subject to architectural guidelines designed to maintain a cohesive streetscape and protect the community’s character.
The Sanctuary Village master plan provides for several types of residential and mixed-use buildings.
Cottages
Cottages offer efficient living in a smaller footprint while remaining connected to the neighborhood’s parks, trails, sidewalks, and common areas. They provide an option for residents who prefer a smaller home without giving up access to the broader community setting.
Village Homes
Village Homes are larger residences with garages or carriage houses positioned toward the rear. This prevents garage doors and driveways from dominating the front of the home and the surrounding streetscape.
Tree Houses
Tree Houses are compact, vertical residences that offer distinctive architectural character within a small footprint. The design may place one principal room on each floor, with the living room, kitchen, and bedroom occupying separate levels. Their narrow profiles add variety to the streetscape while using land efficiently, reflecting the TND principle of incorporating different home types within a cohesive neighborhood.
Mansion Flats
Planned Mansion Flats provide condominium residences within four-unit and six-unit buildings designed to resemble larger traditional homes. This allows multiple households to live within a building that complements the scale and architectural character of the neighborhood.
Live-Work Units
Live-work units allow certain compatible businesses or professional uses to operate on the ground floor, with residential space above. They reflect the traditional pattern of combining homes and small businesses within the same neighborhood.
Sanctuary Village also permits in-home businesses, subject to applicable requirements. This flexibility can support residents who work remotely, operate a professional practice, or run a small business from home.
Is a TND Worth Considering?
A TND can be a good fit for people who value:
- A setting that supports both privacy and connectivity
- A pedestrian-friendly setting for walking within and beyond the neighborhood
- Convenient access to parks, trails, shops, restaurants, and community activities
- A variety of home sizes and property types
- Shared green spaces and common areas
- Architectural guidelines that help preserve neighborhood character
- Access to shared outdoor spaces without maintaining a large private parcel
Buyers seeking substantial acreage, complete visual separation from neighboring homes, or property without architectural review may prefer a rural homesite.
TNDs use land differently from conventional subdivisions. Homes may be positioned closer together, private homesites may be smaller, and neighborhood life may be more visible. In return, residents gain access to connected streets, shared spaces, pedestrian routes, and nearby destinations.
The right choice depends on whether a buyer places greater value on acreage and seclusion or on connection, convenience, and a walkable setting.
Questions to Ask When Purchasing Property in a TND
Before purchasing property in a TND, ask:
- Where do the sidewalks and trails lead?
- Which parks and common areas are completed?
- Who maintains the common areas and landscaping?
- What utilities are available at the home or homesite?
- What types of homes and other buildings are permitted?
- Where are garages and parking areas located?
- What architectural guidelines apply?
- Are home businesses, rental units, or accessory dwellings permitted?
- How close are shops, restaurants, parks, and other useful destinations?
- Which parts of the master plan are completed, under construction, or planned for the future?
Frequently Asked Questions About TNDs
What Does TND Stand For?
TND stands for Traditional Neighborhood Development. It describes a planning approach that emphasizes walkability, connected streets, public spaces, varied building types, and a pedestrian-friendly relationship between homes and streets.
Is a TND the Same as a Subdivision?
A TND is a type of planned development, but it is generally organized differently from a conventional subdivision. It typically places greater emphasis on sidewalks, connected streets, shared spaces, varied housing options, and destinations within walking distance.
Do People Still Need a Car in a TND?
In a mountain town such as Franklin, most households will still need a car for some errands and regional travel. A well-located TND can make more destinations accessible on foot while reducing the time and distance required for trips made by car.
Do All Homes in a TND Follow the Same House Plan?
Not necessarily. Requirements vary by community. Some TNDs offer a defined collection of plans, while others allow individually designed homes subject to architectural guidelines. At Sanctuary Village, buyers may select or create a home design that fits their needs, provided it complies with the community’s architectural standards.
Can a TND Include Businesses?
Yes. Depending on local zoning and the community’s approved plan, a TND may include offices, studios, shops, services, live-work buildings, and other uses compatible with a residential neighborhood.
A Different Way to Live in the Mountains
A TND offers an alternative to both a conventional subdivision and an isolated rural property. It brings homes, streets, sidewalks, parks, trails, infrastructure, and nearby destinations together as parts of one coordinated plan.
The most important question is not simply whether a neighborhood appears walkable on a site plan. It is whether its streets, shared spaces, and nearby destinations are designed and located well enough to become useful parts of daily life.
At Sanctuary Village, the TND philosophy is adapted to a natural mountain setting in downtown Franklin, NC. Residents can enjoy parks, trails, courtyards, preserved green space, and welcoming streetscapes while remaining connected to Historic Main Street, the Little Tennessee River Greenway, and the everyday life of an established small town.
To experience how these principles come together, book a stay in our Guest Cottage and explore the community, parks, available homes, ready-to-build homesites, and the surrounding region. Spending time at Sanctuary Village can help you determine whether Franklin and the community are the right fit for you. If you purchase a homesite after your visit, the cost of your stay will be credited toward the purchase.