I am entering the fourth month of continuous construction in or around my building, which has been taking place on five unrelated yet consecutive sites, obviously without any coordination in place to minimise residents' discomfort.
Hence my proposal for blockwise building seasons: each city block is attributed two calendar months (say March and October) during which construction activities may be carried out. This way, disturbances will be bundled, and the total duration of peace and quiet increased.
Most importantly, residents can take these seasons into account when drafting their vacation schedule.
--- Small print: "two" can be changed to "n" if a certain block is under intense development. Also, large construction projects exceeding one month can be finished, but they must be planned so as to intersect with building seasons to the utmost.-- placid_turmoil, Feb 12 2010random, halfbakery