Territory and mobility in the American suburb

In suburban America, the kinds of activities that Habraken celebrates, fostered by a sense of security, occur in the gated courtyard, have traditionally occurred on the front porch. The porch is the courtyard inside out and like the courtyard, it is an important buffer between public and private realms. Protected by nested markers of territory, a cordon of sidewalk, a patch of grass, and a screen of shrubs, those occupying the porch feel secure yet engaged with their community, they are simultaneously both inside and out.