Don't Demonize New Urbanism

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."