Urban: Is It or Isn't It?

Is the new Blue Back Square development an attempt to create a livable center in West Harford, or just another 'mall without a roof'?

1 minute read

March 30, 2004, 10:00 AM PST

By Connie Chung


"No, they will not tear up a golf course, destroy a forest or build a Wal-Mart anchored in a sea of parking....They will not contribute to sprawl by building out. They will build up....They'll use real bricks, real granite, real windows to build real buildings made to last 100 years, not 20." However, many residents are wary of the new urbanist Blue Back Square development, raising concerns over the potential loss of heritage in what currently lies in West Hartford Center. However, one of the developers commented that "...it [Blue Back Square] will make West Hartford more of a real place, not less, as West Hartford Center sometimes feels a bit like Disneyland." Peter Marcuse of Columbia University commented: "The architecture may invoke old-fashioned village life, but new urbanism developers too often create an exclusive, upper-middle-class enclave....These are often gentrified, sanitized versions of city life....And very often that's the appeal."

Thanks to Connie Chung

Sunday, March 28, 2004 in The Hartford Courant

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view image of strip mall in suburban Duncanville, Texas.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall

A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

4 hours ago - Parking Reform Network

Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

6 hours ago - Next City

Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.

July 6 - InTransition Magazine