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DAVIS HISTORY

Why Village Homes became famous

Completed in 1975, Village Homes was an unusually ecological neighborhood built around solar orientation, greenbelts, shared spaces and natural drainage.

Village Homes became internationally known because it challenged standard subdivision design. Mike and Judy Corbett developed the roughly 70-acre neighborhood with narrow streets, extensive walking and bike paths, shared green spaces, solar-oriented homes, edible landscaping and open drainage swales instead of a conventional underground storm-drain system. The project was completed in 1975 and drew visitors from around the world.

Early 1970sMike and Judy Corbett organize around an environmentally focused neighborhood idea.
1975The City approves key plans and the project is completed.
Late 1970s onwardVillage Homes attracts international visitors as a planning experiment.
PeriodEarly 1970s–1975
EvidenceDocumented
Last checked2026-08-18
SourceCity of Davis — Growing Pains, Chapter 4
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How the Whole Earth Festival beganThe Whole Earth Festival grew from a UC Davis art-class “Art Happening” begun in 1969, using art to engage people with activism, wellness and the environment.Why UC Davis has the Domes at Baggins EndBaggins End began as an experimental low-cost housing project; construction of 15 two-person fiberglass dome units started in 1972 with student volunteers.How Davis became the first U.S. city with official bike lanesIn 1967, Davis created official city bicycle lanes, a pioneering move that helped shape the town’s identity and later U.S. bikeway standards.Why Davis built a toad tunnelIn the early 1990s, Davis planned a small wildlife tunnel near an Interstate 80 overpass so migrating toads and frogs could reach a drainage pond without crossing traffic.How Davis got its “only in Davis” reputationIn the 1990s, national coverage of a toad tunnel, unpaved alleys and even a snoring citation amplified Davis’s image as an unusually earnest and eccentric town.Why Davis became so focused on controlling growthRapid population and university expansion in the 1960s and 1970s fueled a long-running Davis debate over how much the city should grow and where.