U.S. Army Tries New Urbanism

New Urbanist design comes to the Villages at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Today, the military hopes more attractive neighborhoods will help recruit and retain soldiers, and create a stronger sense of community to support military families.

1 minute read

June 11, 2006, 5:00 AM PDT

By maryereynolds


Fort Belvoir's first New Urbanist village was occupied last year with 171 townhomes and houses designed in a local Georgian Colonial style. Herryford Village includes a "Main Street with shops and a clock tower, playgrounds, and village greens with open-air pavilions and centralized mailboxes where residents can socialize informally." In the past, suburban-style military housing looked like "the architectural equivalent of a uniform."

Joseph Scanga, a principal at Calthorpe Associates, works with the Army and the Navy to design housing. He says: "Military neighborhoods become ghost towns with heavy deployment. They struggle more than average to build and maintain community."

Monday, June 5, 2006 in The New York Times

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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

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