Design Trend for 2011: The Village Vibe

Jenny Sullivan at Builder Magazine says that the trends of planners are influencing residential design:

"The suburbs are starting to feel more like little cities as planners and developers find ways to weave density and walkability into existing hot spots. 'Fewer large-scale development opportunities have shifted the emphasis to smaller infill projects,' AIA chief economist Kermit Baker wrote in a recent design trends report. But these new nodes of 'light urbanism' aren't replacing existing subdivisions; they are popping up between them and connecting the dots. Prime targets for infill redevelopment include big box parking lots, dead shopping centers, strip malls, and transit stations. 'People who want an urban lifestyle but either do not want to live in a 'big city' or cannot afford to will look to live in the many suburban town centers that have been emerging,' Urban Land Institute senior resident fellow John McIlwain wrote in a recent white paper."