Why Halloween Is So Good Here (and What That Tells Us About Land Use)
This article was originally published, in slightly different form, on Strong Towns member Will Gardner’s Substack, StrongHaven. It is shared here with permission. Images were provided by the writer unless otherwise indicated.
Even though my town of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, is a beach town, there’s an argument to be made that Halloween is our best holiday. People here get into the spirit and go all out. The other night, we biked up to the Oxford Haunt, a great haunted house that a family sets up in their yard every year.
(Source: Ole’ Oxford Haunt.)
This haunt was one of the homes featured in the documentary "The American Scream," about Halloween in Fairhaven. I told you we go all out!
Trick-or-treating works well in our older neighborhoods here. We have decent sidewalks. The houses are close enough together that you can hit a bunch of them just by walking down one short block. The old, narrow streets mean that cars drive a bit more slowly, making it more comfortable and safe to walk here.
If our older neighborhoods were forced to adopt our town’s current zoning restrictions, then trick-or-treating wouldn’t happen here. Big lots, deep setbacks, and fewer families per lot make for a dull Halloween. When the suburban experiment began here, walkable neighborhoods like ours were gradually outlawed, pushing development further out toward the margins of town. Starter homes and smaller apartments became virtually nonexistent in the center of town, so people just starting out or settling down here were forced to drive until they could afford a place. Those newer neighborhoods were restricted to single-family homes with large lots. Walking there is a thing you do for fitness, not transportation.
Look Ma, no sidewalks!
It’s no wonder that so many people living in postwar suburban neighborhoods drive their kids to (nonconforming) prewar neighborhoods for trick-or-treating. Walking around to greet neighbors is only fun in a place where there are… neighbors. It’s a privilege to live in a walkable place, and that privilege stands in sharp relief on Halloween.
But why should walkability be a scarce resource? There’s plenty of space to thicken up our existing neighborhoods by legalizing more types of housing and doing away with restrictions that prevent the next increment of development here. There’s no good reason why walkable neighborhoods like the ones we have in the center of town couldn’t expand outward, making the town more financially sustainable and allowing us to preserve our green space at the margins for the enjoyment of all. In an already tight housing market, it doesn’t make sense for our town’s restrictions to artificially limit housing supply in our most sought-after neighborhoods, where growth would only increase net revenue (and thus the quality of services for the town).
I know some people prefer to live in exurbs and cul-de-sacs, even given the opportunity to live in more walkable places. That’s great. They should have that right. But nobody should be forced to trunk-or-treat when they’d rather be trick-or-treating. On Halloween night, it’s painfully clear that many people would like to live in a place where their kids can visit neighbors and get to things without being chauffeured around. Restrictive zoning that freezes the growth and replication of prewar neighborhoods prevents those families from living in a walkable place, even as it bankrupts the town. This lack of options is a cruel trick, but fixing it need not be scary.
It’s great that so many people come to visit our older neighborhoods for Halloween. Especially if they don’t creepily trail their kids in cars. We should see the throngs of people on our sidewalks as a sign that people want to be in walkable neighborhoods. Meeting that need would create more income for the town, better services, lower rents and more candy for the kids. Sweet deal.
Will Gardner is an education consultant and the founder of Alma del Mar Charter Schools. He’s currently scheming about how to improve his town, but he’s happy to help you with whatever you’re working on. You can find him at StrongHaven.substack.com.
