Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

New urbanism is a philosophical and spatial-use approach to architectural and city planning that emphasizes creating high-density, self-contained communities that meet both the spatial and social needs of neighborhood residents. The ideal new urbanism community is compact, multi or mixed use, diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, income, and age, and pedestrian and public transportation friendly. New urbanist ideals have been used in both revitalization efforts of existing neighborhoods as well as in the creation of new communities, such as Celebration, Florida, Kentlands, Maryland and Laguna, California. New urbanism gained popularity as a planning approach in the 1980s as a criticism of mid-nineteenth century development patterns of suburban sprawl and disinvestment in central cities. Despite the recent increase in support of new urbanist ideals, new urbanism is not considered a new approach to community planning; instead, its proponents espouse a return to a more “traditional urbanism” (i.e., compact, close-knit communities that developed naturally until the twentieth century). For advocates of new urbanism, current zoning regulations and subdivision laws are creating communities that are environmentally, physically, and socially destructive. New urbanism supporters suggest that suburban sprawl and central city disinvestment lead to increasing racial and economic segregation, ... log in or subscribe to read full text