Yes, we do have a story to tell, but this is a brand new site ...
Random thoughts
Alleys were essential as delivery and service conduits in cities as ancient as Olynthus, Pompeii, and Rome. In more modern times, they provided secondary housing for people who served in the larger houses facing the street or for people living very close to where they worked.This changed in the early part of the 20th century, with services and deliveries gradually engineered to go underground in cities like San Francisco and the rest of United States.Moreover, the development of suburbia and the desire to acquire the trapping of the post-war-nuclear-family diminished the charm that an alley can provide – after all, alleys and feeder streets weren’t designed for cars and often had limited parking. The net effect being, the cities let unused 15-foot-wide alleys and buildings nearby fall into disrepair and, ultimately, become centers for less desirable activities.
Hidden from view, today alleys generally remain disinvested and neglected, but they can be retrieved for a host of good uses: they are the ultimate pedestrian environment.The great potential of alleys is their sense of scale.They have intimacy, cohesion and direct relationship between multi-uses surrounding the space; they provide balance.Alleys and feeder streets foster a choice in housing, transportation and human uses.
Nearly 30 percent of the urban space is allocated to streets, including alleyways, and much less is allocated to parks in part because space is primarily the domain of the vehicle not the pedestrian…..