New Urbanism is a town planning model that arose in reaction to post World War II conventional suburban development (CSD), or suburban sprawl. This growing sustainable housing movement is led by architects, city planners, and sustainable developers who work together to create human-scale, walkable communities. New Urbanism emphasizes people over cars; mass transportation and walking over individual auto use; and mixed-use, mixed-income housing over single detached homes located miles from the closes grocery store. The design principles of New Urbanism recognize a growing shortage of cheap oil shortage and the need to reduce our carbon footprint.
New Urbanists take a wide variety of approaches. Some work exclusively on urban infill projects, others focus on transit-oriented development near city centers. Some town founders are attempting to transform the suburbs, and many work on all these fronts. Collectively, however all New Urbanist towns share common design principles including: aesthetic blending of mixed-use residential and commercial areas with a Town Center, and retail area located within a five minute walk of the private homes. Research has shown that walkable town centers can reduce driving and energy-use by over 60 percent (See New Village Institute study.)
This New Urbanist initiative is about the recreation of traditional neighborhoods that were once functional, sustainable communities. A movement that began in the 1970s and 1980’s, the principles of New Urbanism are now in over 100 completed towns with more than 600 new towns, villages, and neighborhoods being planned or under construction in the U.S. Interestingly, although the U.S. is in a housing recession, home sales are strongest in mixed-use sustainable New Urbanist towns. Two examples of energy efficient homes are located at Oshara Village in Santa Fe, NM, and at Forest City Stapleton in Denver, CO which are selling better than in comparable nearby neighborhoods.
We support the work of the Congress for the New Urbanism and the Urban Land Institute. These neighborhood focused organizations are restoring the urban fabric of cities and towns by reestablishing walkable streets and blocks where people see each other regularly, exercise, and form strong local communities.
