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Don't Demonize New Urbanism

Posted by: Chris Steins
Thanks to: Kevin Varner
19 April 2005 - 11:00am

New Urbanists don't demand to eliminate suburbia -- only to be able to build walkable and mixed-use communities.

John Norquist, President of the Congress for the New Urbanism in Chicago, offers a rebuttal to Steven Greenhut's April 3 column, "City planning by Those Who Know Best."

Norquist argues that Greenhut "seems to have conflated the New Urbanism and Smart Growth, two movements that overlap but also differ substantially in their philosophies and implementation mechanisms."

..."Current zoning codes in most areas allow only the development of single-use, auto-dependent housing subdivisions, shopping centers and office parks. New Urbanists have found that there is a strong market demand for traditional towns, and that towns should not face regulatory obstacles greater than conventional suburbia."

Full Story: Free developers to build 'new urban' towns
Source: Orange County Register, April 18, 2004
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The promise of 'communities' yet-to-come must be particularly offensive to people who pre-date incoming developments. What is the 'beginning of a community that has the body language of a community?' Does this imply that the current neighborhoods in and around downtown Los Angeles lack such a 'body language'?
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