NEW URBANISM

New Urbanism is an urban design movement which promotes environmentally friendly habits by
creating walkable neighborhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types.[1] It arose in the
United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually influenced many aspects of real estate
development, urban planning, and municipal land-use strategies.

New Urbanism is strongly influenced by urban design practices that were prominent until the
rise of the automobile prior to World War II; it encompasses ten basic principles such as traditional
neighborhood design (TND) and transit-oriented development (TOD).[2]These ideas can all be circled
back to two concepts: building a sense of community and the development of ecological practices.

The organizing body for New Urbanism is the Congress for the New Urbanism, founded in 1993.
Its foundational text is the Charter of the New Urbanism, which begins:

We advocate the restructuring of public policy and development practices to support the
following principles: neighborhoods should be diverse in use and population; communities
should be designed for the pedestrian and transit as well as the car; cities and towns should be
shaped by physically defined and universally accessible public spaces and community
institutions; urban places should be framed by architecture and landscape design that celebrate
local history, climate, ecology, and building practice.
New Urbanists support: regional planning for open space; context-
appropriate architecture and planning; adequate provision of infrastructure such as sporting facilities,
libraries and community centres;[5] and the balanced development of jobs and housing. They believe
their strategies can reduce traffic congestion by encouraging the population to ride bikes, walk, or take
the train. They also hope that this set up will increase the supply of affordable housing and rein
in suburban sprawl. The Charter of the New Urbanismalso covers issues such as historic preservation,
safe streets, green building, and the re-development of brownfield land. The tenPrinciples of Intelligent
Urbanism also phrase guidelines for new urbanist approaches.
PRINCIPLES OF URBANISM

The principles of urbanism can be applied increasingly to projects at the full range of scales from a single
building to an entire community.

1. Walkability

-Most things within a 10-minute walk of home and work

-Pedestrian friendly street design (buildings close to street; porches,
windows & doors; tree-lined streets; on street parking; hidden parking
lots; garages in rear lane; narrow, slow speed streets)
-Pedestrian streets free of cars in special cases

2. Connectivity

-Interconnected street grid network disperses traffic & eases walking

-A hierarchy of narrow streets, boulevards, and alleys
-High quality pedestrian network and public realm makes walking
pleasurable

3. Mixed-Use & Diversity

-A mix of shops, offices, apartments, and homes on site. Mixed-use

within neighborhoods, within blocks, and within buildings
-Diversity of people - of ages, income levels, cultures, and races

4. Mixed Housing

A range of types, sizes and prices in closer

proximity
5. Quality Architecture & Urban Design

Emphasis on beauty, aesthetics, human comfort, and creating a

sense of place; Special placement of civic uses and sites within
community. Human scale architecture & beautiful surroundings
nourish the human spirit

6. Traditional Neighborhood Structure

-Discernable center and edge

-Public space at center
-Importance of quality public realm; public open space designed as civic art
-Contains a range of uses and densities within 10-minute walk
-Transect planning: Highest densities at town center; progressively less dense towards the edge. The
transect is an analytical system that conceptualizes mutually reinforcing elements, creating a series of
specific natural habitats and/or urban lifestyle settings. The Transect integrates environmental
methodology for habitat assessment with zoning methodology for community design. The professional
boundary between the natural and man-made disappears, enabling environmentalists to assess the
design of the human habitat and
the urbanists to support the
viability of nature. This urban-to-
rural transect hierarchy has
appropriate building and street
types for each area along the
continuum.

7. Increased Density

-More buildings, residences, shops, and services closer together for

ease of walking, to enable a more efficient use of services and
resources, and to create a more convenient, enjoyable place to live.
-New Urbanism design principles are applied at the full range of
densities from small towns, to large cities

8. Green Transportation

-A network of high-quality trains connecting cities, towns, and

neighborhoods together
-Pedestrian-friendly design that encourages a greater use of bicycles,
rollerblades, scooters, and walking as daily transportation
9. Sustainability

-Minimal environmental impact of development and its operations

-Eco-friendly technologies, respect for ecology and value of natural
systems
-Energy efficiency
-Less use of finite fuels
-More local production
-More walking, less driving

10. Quality of Life

Taken together these add up to a high quality of life well worth living,
and create places that enrich, uplift, and inspire the human spirit.

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BENEFITS OF URBANISM

1. BENEFITS TO RESIDENTS

Higher quality of life; Better places to live, work, & play; Higher, more stable property values; Less traffic
congestion & less driving; Healthier lifestyle with more walking, and less stress; Close proximity to main
street retail & services; Close proximity to bike trails, parks, and nature; Pedestrian friendly communities
offer more opportunities to get to know others in the neighborhood and town, resulting in meaningful
relationships with more people, and a friendlier town; More freedom and independence to children,
elderly, and the poor in being able to get to jobs, recreation, and services without the need for a car or
someone to drive them; Great savings to residents and school boards in reduced busing costs from
children being able to walk or bicycle to neighborhood schools; More diversity and smaller, unique shops
and services with local owners who are involved in community; Big savings by driving less, and owning
less cars; Less ugly, congested sprawl to deal with daily; Better sense of place and community identity
with more unique architecture; More open space to enjoy that will remain open space; More efficient use
of tax money with less spent on spread out utilities and roads

2. BENEFITS TO BUSINESSES

Increased sales due to more foot traffic & people spending less on cars and gas; More profits due to
spending less on advertising and large signs; Better lifestyle by living above shop in live-work units -
saves the stressful & costly commute; Economies of scale in marketing due to close proximity and
cooperation with other local businesses; Smaller spaces promote small local business incubation; Lower
rents due to smaller spaces & smaller parking lots; Healthier lifestyle due to more walking and being near
healthier restaurants; More community involvement from being part of community and knowing residents

3. BENEFITS TO DEVELOPERS

More income potential from higher density mixed-use projects due to more leasable square footage, more
sales per square foot, and higher property values and selling prices; Faster approvals in communities that
have adopted smart growth principles resulting in cost / time savings; Cost savings in parking facilities in
mixed-use properties due to sharing of spaces throughout the day and night, resulting in less duplication
in providing parking; Less need for parking facilities due to mix of residences and commercial uses within
walking distance of each other; Less impact on roads / traffic, which can result in lower impact fees;
Lower cost of utilities due to compact nature of New Urbanist design; Greater acceptance by the public
and less resistance from NIMBYS; Faster sell out due to greater acceptance by consumers from a wider
product range resulting in wider market share

4. BENEFITS TO MUNICIPALITIES

Stable, appreciating tax base; Less spent per capita on infrastructure and utilities than typical suburban
development due to compact, high-density nature of projects; Increased tax base due to more buildings
packed into a tighter area; Less traffic congestion due to walkability of design; Less crime and less spent
on policing due to the presence of more people day and night; Less resistance from community; Better
overall community image and sense of place; Less incentive to sprawl when urban core area is desirable;
Easy to install transit where it's not, and improve it where it is; Greater civic involvement of population
leads to better governance

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WAYS TO IMPLEMENT NEW URBANISM

The most effective way to implement New Urbanism is to plan for it, and write it into zoning and
development codes. This directs all future development into this form.

New Urbanism is best planned at all levels of development:

-The single building

-Groups of buildings
-The urban block
-The neighborhood
-Networks of neighborhoods
-Towns
-Cities
-Regions

Increasingly, regional planning techniques are being used to control and shape growth into compact,
high-density, mixed-use neighborhoods, villages, towns, and cities. Planning new train systems (instead
of more roads) delivers the best results when designed in harmony with regional land planning - known as
Transit Oriented Development (TOD). At the same time, the revitalization of urban areas directs and
encourages infill development back into city centers.

Planning for compact growth, rather than letting it sprawl out, has the potential to greatly increase the
quality of the environment. It also prevents congestion problems and the environmental degradation
normally associated with growth.

OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME

The most important obstacle to overcome is the restrictive and incorrect zoning codes currently in force in
most municipalities. Current codes do not allow New Urbanism to be built, but do allow sprawl. Adopting a
TND ordinance and/or a system of 'smart codes' allows New Urbanism to be built easily without having to
rewrite existing codes.