About Lost Rabbit

Welcome to New Urbanism

After 50 years of living in places that are far from work, entertainment and institutional buildings, there has been an increased demand for places that have it all. Places where residents, if they so desire, can live quite comfortably without an automobile. Where most of the daily activities are located within walking distance and are connected by attractive streets and public spaces. In addition, it would be nice to have a variety of travel options, housing for all and protected natural areas. An attempt to deliver these amenities in one package is a form of planning called new urbanism.

Why do we need new urbanism? Isn’t the conventional way of building good enough?

The planning of conventional suburbs is based on the rigid separation of land uses. The assumption is that everyone going from place to place will use a car. Consequently, modern cities have become dominated by pavement that sprawls in vast distances across the landscape. In the process, farms and wilderness are destroyed. Residents spend much of their day in traffic, and everyone budgets a lot of money for transportation. Those who can’t drive — the poor, the elderly and children — are more restricted and dependent than everyone else.

If people are going to walk, there have to be places to go and things to do nearby. There must be an assortment of private, commercial and public buildings; these buildings must be connected by a variety of public spaces. Good neighborhoods also have a balance of jobs, housing and services.

A new urbanist neighborhood (also known as TND) is created at the human scale. Buildings are placed closer together and exteriors are designed to be safe and attractive for pedestrians. Streets are constructed for slower speeds and traffic is dispersed through many different connections. Walking in front of a business or around town is simply a pleasant, interesting activity.

Neighborhoods like these have survived and prospered over the centuries. New urbanism returns to these time-tested principles and adapts them for a healthy, sustainable 21st century.

Planning for Tomorrow

Of all the towns and neighborhoods in the world, which are your favorites? Where do you enjoy spending time, strolling the streets, getting to know the people who live there? Some people prefer the charm and familiarity of small town life. Others are excited by the intensity of big cities. Wherever your preferred place happens to be, chances are it started out with a master plan.

From the Greek colonies of ancient history to the American colonies of the 18th century, a surprising number of great towns were laid out with formal plans. These plans show the pattern of streets and blocks, locations for civic buildings and squares, even the boundaries of individual lots. Plans helped to create general agreement about the desired character for a place (otherwise known as “vision”).

In America, the art of town planning reached a peak in the 1920s. But when the depression hit there was little new construction. In the 1950s and 60s, Modernist urban renewal efforts gave planning a bad name. In spite of these misfortunes, new urbanist planners are today reviving and reinventing the older traditions of town design.

New urban planning begins with an intensive community dialogue such as a “charrette” or “visioning workshop.” The designers hear from residents, businesspeople, and officials — anyone who has a stake in the new development. The area’s strong points are identified for support, and the weak points are targeted for change. Throughout the discussion, the planners are constantly drawing and modifying the plan based on the input they receive.

The final result of all this activity is a set of detailed maps and illustrations. The importance of these visual images cannot be underestimated. They are the guiding documents of the community’s future character both aesthetically and functionally. They are also necessary as illustrations for the legally binding written portion of the plan.

With the plan in hand, architects, developers and local officials have a ready reference. The ideal plan, then, is a democratically generated summary of a community’s hopes for its future.

— Article reprinted with permission of The Town Paper.