Kaid Benfield argues that if people are going to embrace mixed-use, denser living styles, architects and designers need to "embrace the familiar."
"The path to a more environmentally benign future lies not in convincing consumers that they must change, but in giving them the things they seek in a more sustainable form," writes Benfield.
He quotes from a report in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology that claims that Americans have sought familiar settings because they are more mobile than other cultures. With people moving more frequently for jobs and education, the ability to easily understand your new environment is useful:
"When individuals move to a strange place and are under the stress of starting a new life and have to repeat this again and again, they are likely to seek out familiar objects and avoid unfamiliar objects."
FULL STORY: Sustainable communities must embrace the familiar
The Natalist Case For Sprawl (And Why It Fails)
Some commentators defend anti-urban government policies such as exclusionary zoning on the basis that homeowning suburbanites have high birth rates. But this doesn't seem to be true in recent decades.
Off-Street Parking in the Midburbs
In several New Jersey cities, eliminating parking requirements has boosted local businesses.
Rethinking Suburban Development: New Trends in Creating Livable Communities
Discover new trends in suburban development focused on creating more livable, sustainable communities for future growth.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
Op-Ed: Looking for Efficiency? Fund Intercity Buses
Much less expensive than rail, intercity buses serve millions of Americans every year, but public subsidies are lacking.
Philadelphia Councilmember Proposes Transit Access Fund
The plan would allocate 0.5 percent of the general fund toward mobility subsidies for low-income households.
Texas Bill Would Ban Road Diets, Congestion Pricing
A Texas state senator wants to prevent any discussion of congestion pricing and could suspend existing bike lane and sidewalk projects.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Ada County Highway District
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service