An Alternative To New Urbanism?

Some members of the New Urbanist listserv Pro-urb recently criticized Richard Carson for his writings about the rise of Urban Realism and the demise of New Urbanism. They asked him if there were any "serious, credible alternatives out there?" In this article Mr. Carson responds and proposes a radical alternative –- The Golden Mean: "We need to manage our cities wisely and there are three basics for city planning. First is to understand a city in the context of the space-time continuum already discussed here. Second is that the city function effectively and cost-efficiently. Third is that the city should grow organically. That is to say it has to be a place the people of the place want. It has to reflect the city's unique geography, geomorphology, history and society. Quite frankly, the special interests (i.e., building industry associations, environmental group, new urbanists) should butt out. The citizens should be allowed to democratically divine their own future. A city should be the creation of its citizens because only they can build a city for the purpose of providing for their happiness."

Thanks to Chris Steins