The Intrepid Staff

New urbanists ponder how they can adapt to the new economic climate and avoid the fate of their predecessors.

The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that President Obama signed on Feb. 17 left advocates of compact and transit-oriented development practically biting their tongues.

In these austere times, some urbanists are advocating greater use of the traditional rectilinear grid — an efficient, less expensive, but also challenging pattern.

Planner Andres Duany proposes a plan for Goodbee Square, near Covington, LA, that adds modern light-imprint urbanism to an old Jeffersonian idea.

"Economic troubles spread from housing to other development sectors, including retail and offices."