New Urbanism's Young Adherents Keep it Fresh

Smaller-scale projects are increasingly the favored approach for the younger class of New Urbanists.

"[T]here were a lot of young people at the conference -- planners, architects, engineers -- who are excited about taking urbanism forward. Members of the CNU NextGen group could often be found at a rundown rented storefront they christened the Urban Project Lodge, about a mile from the glossy Monona Terrace convention center where the official panels were happening. The Project Lodge was filled with conversation and argument and ideas (also, lots of beer and free wifi).

Many of the people who hung around the Project Lodge are interested in urban improvement projects that can be done fast, and flexibly, and cheap. They realize that in this economic environment, huge projects and ambitious master plans -- the kind of thing that has defined New Urbanism to some extent -- are unlikely to be completed in large numbers."