Planning, Pet Rocks And Psychobabble

Richard Carson argues there's nothing new or innovative about "New Urbanism." It's just a new name for an old strategy.

1 minute read

January 2, 2002, 6:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"We have watched what was traditionally land use planning be reinvented as comprehensive planning, growth management, neo-traditional town planning, new urbanism, and now smart growth. Through this process of reinvention, we planners have increasingly put the psychology of planning before the functionality of planning... Our "know-it-all" attitude has also resulted in a failure to maintain the participation of the citizens who created these earlier plans and has fed the anti-growth and anti-planning voting among the electorate at the ballot box. We are reaping the bitter harvest of our blind faith in our own moral imperative..."

Thanks to Chris Steins

Wednesday, January 2, 2002 in Planetizen

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

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

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Close-up of 10 mph speed limit sign.

Washington Passes First US ‘Shared Streets’ Law

Cities will be allowed to lower speed limits to 10 miles per hour and prioritize pedestrians on certain streets.

45 minutes ago - The Urbanist

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.

1 hour ago - CBC

Traffic and old buildings in Manhattan, New York City.

USDOT Could Pull Federal Funding for New York

The federal government gave the state until May 21 to end new York City’s congestion pricing program or risk losing federal funding and project approvals.

2 hours ago - Smart Cities Dive