New UrbanismAn introduction

Across North America, and around the world, an urban design movement called New Urbanism is changing the way our cities and towns are built.

Giving Physical Shape to Community

Giving Physical Shape to CommunityNew urbanist developments are walkable neighborhoods, rather than large, single-use places with streets hostile to pedestrians.

Giving Physical Shape to CommunityNew Urbanism provides a range of housing choices, from apartments over storefronts to single-family homes with yards.

Giving Physical Shape to CommunityCareful, participatory planning ensures that everyone in the neighborhood has easy access to the necessities of life, making life easier for kids, the elderly, and people who don’t want to drive.

Response to a ProblemSince World War II, cities have been spreading ever-outward. Strip malls, parking lots, highways, and housing tracts have sprawled over the landscape.

Response to a ProblemToo many urban neighborhoods have been blighted by oversized housing projects and centralized redevelopment schemes.

Response to a ProblemEven older suburbs have suffered as new ones continue to spring up,skimming off tax base.

What’s Old in New UrbanismMany of the planning ideas behind New Urbanism are not new.

What’s Old in New UrbanismUrban design has been an art for millennia.

What’s Old in New UrbanismSince America was founded, many of our best-loved towns and cities have been carefully planned.

Where it’s needed

In fact, New Urbanism guides development at all scales, from the building to the region.

New Urbanism is often associated with new towns such as Seaside, Florida.

Where it’s neededIt includes sizable infill projects within existing cities and towns.Like in Bethesda, Maryland.

Where it’s neededOr New Urbanism can be small projects on individual blocks, like the block on 8th and Pearl in Boulder, Colorado.

Where it’s neededIt can also apply to redeveloped neighborhoods like Park DuValle in Louisville, Kentucky.

Where it’s neededNew Urbanism includes greenfield projects, also called traditional neighborhood developments (TNDs). Maryland's Kentlands and Lakelands are among the best-known.

Where it’s neededNew Urbanists also take part in regional planning. In New Jersey, a statewide plan has focused public investment into existing centers, and a statewide design guideline is helping keep the state’s small towns vibrant.

The Principles of New UrbanismThe principles of the New Urbanism are defined by a Charter, which was developed between 1993 and 1996 by a broad range of architects, planners, interested citizens, scholars, elected officials, and developers. It was ratified at the fourth annual Congress, the annual meeting sponsored by CNU.

The Principles of New UrbanismIts principles are divided into three categories:

• The Region: Metropolis, City and Town

• The Neighborhood, the District, and the Corridor

• The Block, the Street, and the Building

The RegionFor new urbanists, the region is the overall context for all planning. That means planning must often cross traditional jurisdictional lines in order to create a healthy region.

The RegionTowns within a region need a comprehensive metropolitan strategy in order to prosper. Each town should have both homes—for people of all incomes—and jobs. That way, residents aren’t forced to travel far to work. Each town also needs a discrete sense of place.

Homes

Jobs

The RegionNew Urbanism calls for towns to develop in the appropriate style for their surroundings, while respecting their neighbors.

Gainesville, FL Boca Raton, FL

The RegionTowns and cities within a region should have clear boundaries, contributing toa sense of place. The land between towns should be preserved as open space—wilderness or farm-land.These edges are as important as the centers to the success of New Urbanism.

The RegionWilderness, farmland, villages, town edges, town centers, city neighborhoods, and city centers each have their own building densities, street sizes, and appropriate mixtures of retail, residential, and other functions.

The NeighborhoodDiverse, walkable neighborhoods are what distinguish New Urbanism from other modern development styles.

The NeighborhoodThe word “neighborhood” gets tossed around a lot in real estate brochures, so it is important to be clear what it means. Each neighborhood has a center and an edge. The center should be a public space, whether a square, a green, or an important intersection.

The NeighborhoodThe optimal size of a neighborhood is a quarter-mile from center to edge. For most people, a quarter mile is a five-minute walk. For a neighborhood to feel walkable, many daily needs should be supplied within this five-minute walk. That includes not only homes, but stores, workplaces, schools, houses of worship, and recreational areas.

The NeighborhoodPeople within a quarter-mile radius will walk to a major transit stop. Those who live further from a transit node are less likely to bother with the train or bus.

The NeighborhoodPeople within a quarter-mile radius will walk to a major transit stop. Those who live further from a transit node are less likely to bother with the train or bus.

The Block, Street, and BuildingIf there is one thing that reduces the livability of most postwar suburbs, it is the fact that streets do not feel like pleasant, shared spaces.

The Block, Street, and BuildingIn New Urbanism, streets are safe, comfortable, interesting places for people to walk and meet. Buildings open onto sidewalks, rather than parking lots. Windows and doors facing the sidewalk make streets safer, and more interesting, for everyone.

The Block, Street, and BuildingNew urbanist streets use buildings to provide a con-sistent and understandable edge. This accommodates buildings of all styles and functions. Important locations are reserved for grand, attention-getting buildings; other sites require buildings to respect their context.

The Block, Street, and BuildingNew urbanist streets can accommodate cars while also providing comfort and convenience for pedestrians, bicyclists, and wheelchair users.

The Block, Street, and BuildingSince the suburban boom of the 1950s, urban design has taken a back seat. New urbanists are helping to rediscover this largely lost art. Excellent design can make a dense neighborhood feel livable and open. CNU’s award programs recognize beautiful, livable neighborhoods.

Fonti di Matilde, Italy

Washington Township, New Jersey

State St, Chicago

Early EffortsThe first new urbanist town to get built from the ground up was Seaside, on the Florida coast.

Early EffortsBetween 1985 and 1993, several more large-scale projects were undertaken in America’s fast-growing suburbs. Kentlands and Laguna West were two of the best-known and most ambitious efforts.

Laguna West, CA Kentlands, MD

Early EffortsIn the early 1990s, the movement was often termed “neo-traditional” planning. However, that term was a misnomer. As the New Urbanism evolved, its proponents recognized that good urbanism is possible with many types of architecture, town layouts, and densities.

Progress in the SuburbsNew urbanist architects, planners, and developers continue to work on suburban and new town communities; they are now under construction in most states of the U.S. and in other countries from the Philippines to Finland.

Progress in the SuburbsSuburbs have not been immune to decline. As places they often engender even less loyalty than older cities. Today's suburbs can be as impersonal as the large gray cities of the past, and traffic has proved worse.

Progress in the SuburbsSuburbs provide fertile ground for new urbanists, who are increasingly interested in infill projects, housing project redevelopment, and retrofitting town centers into existing suburbs.

Progress in the SuburbsIn new suburban developments, new urbanists are including an ever-wider range of architectural styles. While many new urbanist developments have been built with colonial-style architecture, recent projects include neighborhoods of contemporary homes and adobe.

Cities Get ItIn 1990, most older American cities were neglected and deteriorating. New home buyers were almost exclusively interested in living on the urban fringe.

Cities Get ItToday, young childless households and empty nesters are jostling for urban real estate. Urban reinvestment is paying off. Older cities have become America’s hottest real estate markets.

Cities Get ItNew urbanists have been taking part in urban redevelopment for years, and are now part of the comprehensive movement for livable cities. Projects include neighborhood plans, loft redevelopment, transit villages, and the revival of aging Main Streets.

Other SuccessesThe U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has taken New Urbanism to heart with its HOPE VI program. HOPE VI replaces aging, alienating housing projects with townhouses, single-family homes, and apartments on walkable, comfortable street grids.

Other SuccessesMeanwhile, the U.S. General Services Administration — the federal government’s landlord and the nation’s largest developer — has adopted a new urbanist agenda. Where in the past federal buildings have not always fit in with their surroundings, the GSA has dedicated itself to using federal investments to improve streets, neighborhoods, and regions.

Other SuccessesDead mall redevelopment: Malls built in the 1960s, 70s, and even 80s are already failing in cities and older suburbs. But with the help of new urbanists, some are being converted into real neighborhoods.

SummaryToday, real estate investors are withdrawing from sprawl development. Every year, it grows clearer that there is a tremendous market demand for real neighborhoods, for lively cities, and for regions with plenty of protected open space.

SummaryNew Urbanism is inspiring political leaders eager to solve social, economic, and traffic problems all at once — while making cities and towns more beautiful and dignified. Popular "Smart Growth" policies promote New Urbanism while reducing subsidies for sprawl. These policies are now at the top of the agenda for the nation’s mayors and governors.

SummaryEnvironmentalists, businesspeople, politicians, developers, and citizens are coming together to support the development strategy called New Urbanism, and the policies of Smart Growth. Together, we will create better cities and towns.

Presentation production and design by Urban Advantage