New Urbanism

An introduction
Giving Physical Shape to Community
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
New urbanist developments are
walkable neighborhoods, rather
than large, single-use places with
streets hostile to pedestrians.
Giving Physical Shape to Community
New Urbanism provides a range of
housing choices, from apartments
over storefronts to single-family
homes with yards.
Giving Physical Shape to Community
Careful, 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 Problem
Since 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 Problem
Too many urban neighborhoods have been blighted by oversized housing projects
and centralized redevelopment schemes.
Response to a Problem
Even older suburbs have suffered as new ones continue to spring up,
skimming off tax base.
What’s Old in New Urbanism
Many of the planning ideas behind New Urbanism are not new.
What’s Old in New Urbanism
Urban design has been an art for millennia.
What’s Old in New Urbanism
Since America was founded, many of our
best-loved towns and cities have been
carefully planned.
Where it’s needed
New Urbanism is often associated with
new towns such as Seaside, Florida.
In fact, New Urbanism guides
development at all scales, from the
building to the region.
Where it’s needed
It includes sizable infill projects within existing cities and towns.
Like in Bethesda, Maryland.
Where it’s needed
Or New Urbanism can be small projects on individual blocks, like the block
on 8th and Pearl in Boulder, Colorado.
Where it’s needed
It can also apply to redeveloped neighborhoods like Park DuValle in Louisville, Kentucky.
Where it’s needed
New Urbanism includes greenfield projects, also called traditional neighborhood
developments (TNDs). Maryland's Kentlands and Lakelands are among the best-known.
Where it’s needed
New 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 Urbanism
The 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 Urbanism
Its 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 Region
For 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 Region
Towns 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.

Jobs

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

Gainesville, FL Boca Raton, FL

The Region
Towns and cities within a
region should have clear
boundaries, contributing to
a 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 Region
Wilderness, 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 Neighborhood
Diverse, walkable neighborhoods are what distinguish New Urbanism
from other modern development styles.
The Neighborhood
The 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 Neighborhood
The 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 Neighborhood
People 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 Neighborhood
People 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 Building
If 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 Building
In 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 Building
New 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 Building
New urbanist streets can
accommodate cars while
also providing comfort and
convenience for
pedestrians, bicyclists,
and wheelchair users.
The Block, Street, and Building
Since 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

State St, Chicago

Washington Township, New Jersey
Early Efforts
The first new urbanist town to get built from the
ground up was Seaside, on the Florida coast.
Early Efforts
Between 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 Efforts
In 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 Suburbs
New 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 Suburbs
Suburbs 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 Suburbs
Suburbs 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 Suburbs
In 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 It
In 1990, most older American cities
were neglected and deteriorating. New
home buyers were almost exclusively
interested in living on the urban fringe.
Cities Get It
Today, 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 It
New 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 Successes
The 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 Successes
Meanwhile, 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 Successes
Dead 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.
Summary
Today, 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.
Summary
New 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.
Summary
Environmentalists, 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.

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