The U.S. Military: The Next Apostle of New Urbanism?

The Department of Defense has released new guidelines encouraging mixed-use, compact, walkable development throughout the nation's military bases, Sean Reilly reports.

1 minute read

May 23, 2012, 9:00 AM PDT

By Ryan Lue


While the case has been made for the Department of Defense as a pioneer of energy efficiency, that role has not traditionally been borne out in the physical planning of countless, sprawling military bases throughout the country. But new development guidelines released this week intend to change that.

The new rules, which promote both greenery and the trappings of transit-oriented development, are "about doing things more efficiently so we can preserve land for future missions," says Dorothy Robyn, deputy undersecretary of Defense for installations and environment. "We think it will improve quality of life, but for us it's also about doing our jobs better."

Reilly elaborates, noting that even "if the Pentagon excels at natural land management - its enormous holdings provide habitat to many at-risk species - it hasn't done so well in shaping the installations where hundreds of thousands of service members and their families live." One base in Washington, for instance, boasts some 70,000 parking spaces for a daily population that never exceeds 40,000.

"In development for 18 months, the new guidelines apply to all installation master planning and represent the first thorough rewrite of the Pentagon's policy in a quarter-century."

Saturday, May 19, 2012 in USA Today

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

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

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.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Flat modern glass office tower with "County of Santa Clara" sign.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing

The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

May 23 - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of dense urban center with lines indicating smart city concept.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant

A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

May 23 - Governing

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

May 23 - The Daily Yonder