"The traditional neighborhood"

I suppose i should lay off the term 'traditional neighborhood.' My first response is usually, 'whose tradition?' but i guess the answer is really everyone's, and then recognize exclusions in the construction of them along the way. minorities weren't included in the original creation of colonial towns and main streets, or residential architecture. the plantation obviously isn't black folks' tradition. getting run out of town, blocked from employment and relegated to poorly thought-out sects of cities and housing projects wouldn't be a tradition to take pride in, and in fact jane jacobs illustrates that immigrant communities in 'blighted' areas of the city hold many lessons. i guess my concern is that 'traditional' still considers a residence a standalone building, but 'whose tradition' is a bit hyperbolic. i know whose, but this doesn't preclude it from being a decent model (although still expandable, and requiring investigation and democratization).