Project — Bound Town
The answer is all of the above. At its core, the Bound Town Project is a grassroots, multi-phase initiative aimed at demarcating, preserving, and reactivating historically significant but legally "unbounded" town spaces. The term "bound" refers to the traditional legal and physical boundaries that defined a town center—the commons, the market square, the churchyard, or the mill pond. Over the last century, many of these boundaries have eroded due to privatization, road expansion, or simple neglect.
Urban planners are beginning to see the project not as anti-development, but as pre-developmental —a way to set the table for growth that actually serves the people at the table. bound town project
In Alder’s Ford, they installed a new iron gate at the entrance to the river walk. Wrought into the metal are the words: "Bound We Stand." It is a pun, but also a promise. In a world that profits from keeping us unmoored, the Bound Town Project offers an anchor. If you are interested in applying the Bound Town Project model to your region, contact the Commons Law Center or the Historic Stewardship Alliance for pro-bono legal templates and mapping software. The ground is waiting. It is time to bind it. The answer is all of the above