BACKGROUND AND INSPIRATION:

A growing reaction to modernist design and planning principles and suburban "sprawl" has led to the most recent trend in neighborhood design and urban development. Termed the New Urbanism, the fundamental tenet is to enhance community connections and alternative transportation modes while de-emphasizing the automobile. Accompanying this people-centered development model is a call for "green" building techniques that leave less of a footprint on the physical environment. By the mid-1990s the Congress for the New Urbanism provided detailed guidelines and philosophies for integrating neotraditional planning elements into existing urban places and new urban or suburban developments. The term "neotraditional" refers to the notion that the "new urbanism" actually looks to "old" urbanism for its inspiration, namely the types of early 20th-century neighborhoods that were designed to accomodate pedestrians, mass transit, and the automobile. Thus, new-urbanist developments since the 1990s tend to include community-oriented features such as houses built close to the street, parallel parking, alleyways, side- or rear-loading garages, mixed-use buildings with retail, residential, and/or commercial space, narrow streets, historically-inspired architectural styles, and diverse mixtures of housing types and sizes to accomodate a wider range of income groups. Ideally, all of this is tied into larger metropolitan transportation networks with easy access to mass transit, such as light rail or bus. There is an environmental rationale for such development as well, including the use of less land per given population and, ideally, the use of green building methods that have gained much more attention since the 1990s. Several early prototype developments from the 1980s and 1990s still serve as the models for the New Urbanism, including the communities of Seaside and Celebration, both in Florida.

PHOTO LOCATIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS (based on info available)

1-2. Durango, CO. Residential lofts with retail businesses on first floor. Two different projects pictured here. Both are centrally located right on Main Street in the historic business district.
3. Pasadena, CA. Excellent example of a TOD -- transit-oriented development. In this case, condos or lofts literally surround a light-rail station on the L.A. Metro Gold Line, providing commuters with a simple, half-hour commute to downtown L.A. without a car. Also an easy four-block walk to Old-Town Pasadena.
4. Kirkwood, MO. Loft condominiums located in downtown Kirkwood. Includes condos above the first floor of retail.
5. Alexandria, VA. Residential, hotel, commercial, office, and transit developments around the Washington, D.C. metro rail station.
6. Arlington, VA. High-rise condos or apartments, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.
7. Arlington, VA. Townhomes close to street, with Georgian row-house inspired architecture.
8. Flagstaff, AZ. Heritage Square. Mixed-use building on the right represents postmodern architecture, as it is an enlarged reproduction of Flagstaff's earlier city hall. The plaza is similar to a European square and encourages public gatherings and community events.
9. Celebration, FL. A new "downtown" business district, shown here. Celebration is one of the prototype new-urbanist towns that has inspired other neotraditional projects across the United States. This photo shows the primary downtown intersection, with mixed-use buildings accommodating lofts and apartments above retail stores and restaurants.
10-17. Celebration, FL. These photos show various principles of new urbanism, or neotraditional design, including alleys and rear-loading garages, "granny flats" above garages for rentals to family members or others, parallel parking and trees separating the sidewalk from the street, small and large areas of public spaces for people to gather and socialize, revivals of various historic architectural styles, such as Victorian, Italian Renaissance, and Georgian row houses, houses close to the street to emphasize a sense of place, and an emphasis of alternate forms of transportation such as walking, biking, and even electric golf carts for local trips!