New Urbanism

New Urbanism is the modern planner's response to urban sprawl. The idea is to live in compact areas, to help preserve open space and farm land. 

Peter Katz, whose book The New Urbanism includes the images to the left, and Peter Calthorpe author of The Next American Metropolis, are the founders of the New Urbanism movement. They seek to reintegrate the components of modern life. The ideal city would be compact and have work, housing, shopping, and recreation all located in a pedestrian friendly area.

The city would have clearly defined centers and edges, with civic buildings located in predominant areas. Due to the focus on Walkability the New Urbanism plan includes public transit to help reduce the use of personal vehicles. The form of transit can be as simple as good bus service, or as complex as a city wide monorail system.

The New Urbanists believe that if the city provides all the components of modern life in a scaled Walkable setting the use of personal cars will decrease. The hope is that this will curb urban sprawl.

For examples of New Urbanism plans see the DoverKohl web page.

A New Urbanism plan for Alta Sita