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Old brick building. What do you think it was used for?

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Nikki P. tells describes the houses along Olympic Dr.

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Many different apartment complexes and one retirement home

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Village Homes creates a strong community environment that is missing in many suburban neighborhoods.
For blog about it go to
http://introamericanstudies.blogspot.com/2006/08/where-green-grass-grows.html

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This is the subdivision Amy chose to write about in her blog post.

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It is fitting that the streets in the Village Homes are all named after places in the Lord of the Rings because it reminds me of the Shire, peaceful are serene but also completely removed and separated from the rest of Middle Earth.

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"A Sense of Community"

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http://introamericanstudies.blogspot.com/2006/08/shrubbery-and-shopping-carts.html

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The Village Homes is a subdivision located in north Davis based on the common belief of “environmental stability”.

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The subdivion that Robin C. wrote about.

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Village Homes is distinctive community in Davis.

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Village Homes is dubbed an environment-friendly subdivision in Davis. But is it really friendly? What does its gated territory reveal about its residents needs for isolation from the rest of the community?
For an analysis and answers, check out my blog at: http://introamericanstudies.blogspot.com/2006/08/houses-up-on-flat-hill.html

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"the subdivision unlike any other"

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Here lies perhaps the most unique and isolated community within Davis, CA.

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Yu's subdivision

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Quiet Little Village

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Village Homes by Lake Blvd.

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Home Away from Home

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Avalon Apartments as a Community

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Pretty beautiful, except for the fact that there are no sidewalks (Refer to my blog, "Highclass Without Sidewalks"). I would want to live here if they allowed horses.

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Nugget Markets is a small chain of grocery stores that emphasizes customer satisfaction and high food quality. They have a wide variety of unique merchandise with many non-brand name products and organic substitutes. Nugget market is the life center of the Oak Tree Plaza and of the entire section of Covell as a whole. The exceptional service and local small-town feeling it gives probably appeals to the majority of shoppers who are families or senior citizens.

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Located on the east entrance to the Sycamore and Covell marketplace stand three, 7-foot tall statues of pigs. The statues signify that the marketplace can be quite amusing, and can easily add a smile to a customer's face. They attract children in addition to those who crave a good laugh.

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This is the front sign of the shopping center on Sycamore and Covell. It is surrounded and decorated by green trees and flowers to express its love for nature.

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This pole like structure was used as a landmark in our survey of L Street through to Poleline. It was very noticeable in the center of the sparce industrial land.

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One side of Covell is well built upon containing apartments, professional and food centers, however the other side is rugged and rural and this is a picture of the fence opening into the junkyard that is filled with bushes along the way, except for this opening.

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These apartments were erected with their fronts facing away from Covell Blvd. Residents are more able to ignore the noise and activity from the road.

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A fountain decorated with farm animals in the northeast corner of the marketplace. Located right outside Togos' and Safeway, it is a nice spot for families to eat.

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New shiny junior high school directly besides Lake Alhambra Estates.

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That sign says "Rick Price Custom Homes". Foretelling of the future? I think so.

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New shiny elementary school

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Practically deserted horse ranch

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The green fields north of Covell blvd add to the rural, small-town feeling. The tomatoes are grown organically without the use of pesticides or fertilizers. The future site of Covell Village was going to be located here until it got voted down in Measure X.

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Alhambra is a private community where we saw some of the biggest and nicest homes in Davis. All of the homes built here are custom made, so none of them look the same.

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The entrance to Mace Ranch

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This is a sign featured on the gates surrounding Lake Alhambra stating it is a private lake for the residents only.

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Frances Harper Junior High School

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The field across the street from Frances Junior High School alongside the bike path.

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Yet another field where crops are grown

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The people of Mace Ranch and Alhambra Estates are surrounded with education.

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This neat and quiet community greatly influences the culture of the surrounding area. Many of the offices in the Professional Center and shops in the Oak Tree Plaza cater to older people. However, this community is separated from the rest of Covell by a chain link fence.

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This apartment complex is mostly inhabited by college students. The buildings are made of wood and painted in earth-tone colors, creating a natural and old fashioned atmosphere to the neighborhood.

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The Davisville Professional Center consists mainly of medical offices which cater to the elderly home nearby. The architecture of the building fits nicely with the rest of the area: simple and earthy.

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Anderson Plaza.. Many stores: Albertson, Papa Murphys, McDonald's, Baskin Robins, Great Clips, Guadalajara, Mirai Japanese Resturant.

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PUMP YOUR GAS HERE!!!

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sports field... football/baseball/soccer

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F street and W. Covell Blvd. TRAFFICCCCC

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Bridge with community advertisment... when you are driving, you will seee them all.

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ART PORJECTS for the KIDDIES?

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Alvarado Sunset... NOW RENTING

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Actual house compare to "dingy" apartments

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The divider that separates the residential area from community park.

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Two pairs of father & son holding hands and crossing the street over to the community park.

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Only color on the block... bright colors that is.

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A wall blocking off residential area from the street.

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A bush wall blocking off residential area from the busy street.

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Some "residents" are diving for "treasure" in this big dumpster.

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At this part of the street... there is STRICTLY no U TURNS

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Several bikes parked right outside of Safeway. Just like the rest of Davis, many people migrate to The Marketplace on their bicycles.

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Chevron gas station. Chevron, simply smarter.

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Big 5 is located right behind the welcome sign on the southeast corner of the marketplace. It is here where you can buy all of your sport materials in addition to clothes.

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Big 5 is located right behind the welcome sign, on the southeast corner of The Marketplace. It is here where you can purchase all of your sport materials in addition to clothes.

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Outside of Panda Express, the bushes have been trimmed in the shapes of animals. This further supports our statement that those who reside in The Marketplace value animals.

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This advertisement for U-Hauls in front of the U-Haul rental location illustrates that many residets in this area of Davis move frequently. This implies that there lack of permanence which is neccessary to support a healthy community.

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Continuing the trend of not being in one place for long, this storage company is making quite a profit off many residents who often move from place to place and need a somewhere to store their stuff.

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Here are two medical centers less than a mile from Sutter Hospital down the road. Why is there a need for so many medical facilities?

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Where are all the cars? Where are all the people? No pedestrians, no bicyclists, no sidewalks!? All there is is a big, open, dry field that catches the eye.

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"And they all have pretty children,
And the children go to school.
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
And they all get put in boxes
And they all come out the same. "
Adobe apartments caters largely to students. It;s high prices often turn most students away. Does adobe represent a demographic described in Cupcake Land?
"And they all have pretty children,
And the children go to school.
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
And they all get put in boxes
And they all come out the same. "
Adobe apartments caters largely to students. It's high prices often turn most students away. Does adobe represent a demographic described in Cupcake Land?

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Wide open spaces seems to be the trend in this section of Covell Blvd. To add to the scarcity of residents, this billboard solicits businesses, replacing the potential for homes and a stronger community.

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Seemingly an area for students, this section of Covell Blvd. also caters to the elderly. Containing two retirement homes which cannot be easily seen from the main road, these retirement homes create an isolated community of senior citizens.

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A very secure fence protects the bridge over the railroad tracks. The Davis Little League Ball Park can be seen on the farther end of the picture.

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Speedee Oil Change and Tune up, Davis Smog, and a self serve car wash all pack this small section between the F Street and the railroad tracks.

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This fountain is nestled just in front of The Hobby Craft. The statue of three frolicking pigs is outside of Noah's Bagels/Peet's Coffee. Agriculture-themed decorations such as these are meant to direct the attention of consumers away from the large corporations to which they are giving their money.

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One can infer by the landscaping of this overpass that Davis considers freeways a necessary evil -- noisy and unattractive. It is sunken below the rest of the city and surrounded by rows of trees to hide it and to muffle the noise coming from it. Like The Marketplace, it is crucial yet kept hidden behind green.

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This gas station is sitting on the edge of the freeway, separated from the town by a field of grass. The foliage acts as a buffer zone, distancing the unsightly yet important building from the street. It is less noticeable this way.

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This hospital is another example of Davis' tendency to place certain necessary things behind a buffer zone of greenery. Set behind a small field is an expansive parking lot punctuated by rows of trees. At the back of the property, barely noticeable from the street, sits the hospital itself. Signs on the corner s along Covell serve as the only identifying markers. Though the hospital helps people who come in for treatment, HMOs and insurance companies attack the patients and their families with paperwork and a bureaucratic mess.

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Several stores in this area house two businesses. Davisville Express Lube and Subway can be found in one building, and Quiznos and Starbucks can be found in another one nearby. Companies do this to improve profits by teaming together to offer the customer the convenience they wouldn't ordinarily get with just a deli or just a coffeeshop.

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Across the street from Monarch set far back is another building. At time horses can be seen riding up and down the driveway. Signs on the outside of the fence inculde no tresspassing and riding lessons.

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This is the wall that can be seen along all of covell from Pole Line to Monarch.

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This is where the sidewalk ends on the older side of Covell. From here to Pole Line the street is lined with a large wall of bushes sepereating the homes from the street.

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A new housing development that leads way to huge homes and a golf course.

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From the middle of the road where Monarch is facing east it can be seen where the development of the land has not yet occured.

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The wall seperating the new part of Davis from the street is much cleaner and the foliage is less developed than the wall on the old side.

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On the older side of Covell the wall looks less visually pleasing and the foliage has grown more.

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A subdivision of new homes is right down the street from the old blue house with so much history. The house are cleaner that those across the street, a cross walk can be seen and the trees are much smaller.

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The old blue farm house. It is the only front door that is located on the stretch of Covell from Pole Line to Monarch. Newer homes are built around it, but it has been perserved.

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The only office space on the strech of Covell.

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This old driveway leads back to the newer homes on outer stretches of Davis. There is one home that is set back farther with the its side faceing Covell.