Old Style Towns In A New Style Era

For decades, a bitter dispute has dogged the management of public lands in Utah and elsewhere in the Southwest, pitting wilderness advocates against growth-minded local governments. However, it is possible that this longstanding deadlock could be broken by the development of towns with a taste of the past—towns where neither cars nor electricity are used. While, at first, the idea of developing new towns to solve the problem of a dwindling wilderness might seem contradictory, these old-style towns might well suit all the various interest groups involved. Land conservation interests should be appeased by towns that are compact, unobtrusive, and far from the modern world. At the same time, the towns could create jobs and economic activity—initially in heritage tourism—which is one of the main goals of local governments. These towns could occupy the middle ground between the wilderness and conventional developments and serve as a buffer between them.NOTE: The full text of this article may only be available to ULI members.

Thanks to Urban Land Magazine