Forum Questions:

New Urbanism Index

Being that it would seem that New Urbanist developments to take place in otherwise suburban areas as part of a master planned development. How does new urbanism apply to redevelopment in existing "urban" areas?

Jeff Speck, co-author of Suburban Nation, responds:

There are several chapters of our book, Suburban Nation, that address your question head on, and it's hard to amswer here quickly. I'll just say that our approach to existing places is to discover, reinforce, and celebrate the historic fabric, patterns, and structure of these places. Foremost among these are all the qualities of the traditional neighborhood unit, which we learned by studying these places in order to apply it to our greenfield work. Lo and behold, what works best in older places is the older patterns of growth.

Prof. Dorn McGrath of George Washington University responds:

Some of the clichés of the new urbanism have been employed quite successfully in existing urban areas, especially around the inner suburbs of Washington, DC, where obsolete commercial facilities and old-style bungalows have been replaced with yuppie housing walk-ups-with-garages-and-hedges withing walking distance of METRO stations. It's a matter of marketing to the affluent.

Next: Is there a list of New Urbanism communities?