Urban sprawl to accommodate increasing populations of people has often come at a cost to small neighbourhoods and communities. But many forward-thinking town planners around the world and here in New Zealand are beginning to see small clusters of homes - or "pocket neighbourhoods" - as a more desirable way to build homes while limiting sprawl. American architect Ross Chapin coined the phrase "pocket neighbourhoods" and has spent 20-years working on the concept of more communal living spaces.