IN THEIR BACKYARDS

TWO PROJECTS BY ACETO LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS WORK TO BLUNT THE EDGES OF A BROKEN HOUSING SYSTEM IN MAINE.

TIMOTHY A. SCHULER

ON A SMALL, CITY-OWNED LOT in Portland, Maine, an experimental housing project is underway. Dougherty Commons, named for the adjacent 18-acre park, Dougherty Field, will offer 125 housing units on a little more than three acres, spread across a series of two-story townhomes, three-story row houses, and one five-story apartment building, all loosely arranged around a woonerf-style shared street and common green spaces. Leading the site design is Aceto Landscape Architects, a practice of eight people based in Portland and helmed by Seth Kimball and married couple Caitlin Aceto, ASLA, and Nick Aceto. The project represents a relatively new strategy in the city’s attempts to deliver new affordable housing. Between 2017 and 2023, the median home price in Portland doubled, prompting city planners to begin surveying the city’s land holdings…

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Landscape Architecture (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 2024

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