Coming to a Manteca neighborhood near you: 4 homes on a motor court PERSPECTIVE This is a sample of how “motor courts” are used to cluster four or more detached single family homes to minimize land use and reduce housing costs.
There was a time when “motor court” in California referred to a cluster of small cabins rented to travelers in the 1930s thru the 1960s.
They were the bridge between the old-style downtown hotels and independent motels that eventually morphed into lodging chains as we know them today.
In some quarters such as Beverly Hills motor courts are design statements that provides an area for vehicles to park while connecting house with garbage. Usually pavers in decorative designs and colors are the focal point while landscaping as we know it front lawns and such next to the front of a home is replaced by well-placed shrubs and ivy.