NEW URBANISM NEIGHBORHOODS ARE MORE ENVIRONMENTAL AND COMMUNITY FRIENDLY BECAUSE OF THEIR COMPACT DESIGN FOR EASILY WALKABLE DISTANCE S AND INCREASED ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN CITIZENS.
New urbanism is a form of growth that is designed in order to limit the amount of urban sprawl and preserve nature and usable farmland. This way of making neighborhoods provides connection between people , others, and businesses. These types of neighborhoods are more environmental and community friendly because of their easily walkable distances and frequent encounters between citizens.
Suburban neighborhoods promote urban sprawl, traffic, and excess exhaust pollution when everyone drives everywhere. In the suburbs, car crashes are more frequent and pedestrians are in more danger of being hit by a car. Suburbs take up lots of agriculturally suitable land that we should be using for farming. Because suburbs require so much land, the distance across the suburb from your house to work or another destination is to far for most to walk comfortably, causing driving to be the main source of transport for many people living in the suburbs. This reliance on cars causes a large amount of car exhaust to be released, this excess amount of pollution can cause spikes in asthma and other health issues.
New urbanism can be the solution to urban sprawl. The compact design of these old style neighborhoods creates distances from home to other locations to be within comfortable walking or biking distance. More traffic is moved from the streets to the sidewalks causing less driving and less car exhaust. These neighborhoods have many other transportation opportunities than suburban areas that have less efficient use of infrastructure, these other transport options may include public buses or trains. The public interaction of a new urbanism neighborhood is keyed in the public transportation and busy sidewalks where people have a greater chance of interaction than when everyone is shut in their own world inside their cars. The public transportation and easy walking distances also provides a source of activity which will make obesity less of a problem and provides businesses with more traffic because when you are walking, stopping to go inside a store is much more accessible than when you are on the road.
The idea of smart growth is based on shared space and compactness. This means that these places will have more interaction and smaller land areas. There will be plazas, squares, and parks that citizens will have access to for contact with others. Although you might not have large backyards, you wouldn't need them with the availability of open public space this neighborhood provides. Parents do not have to worry as much about taking their children place to place because in these neighborhoods, the parents could watch their kids walk to school or to the park because of the placement of destinations within the compact neighborhood. The amount of businesses closer together creates efficient use of services and places them more conveniently.
The design of these new urban neighborhoods places emphasis on beauty, comfort, and sense of place. There is a public space at the center of the community for public interaction, and the rest of the neighborhood's grid patterned roads are lined with sidewalks for easy walking. These neighborhoods are designed using transect planning, meaning that as you move out from the center, the density decreases. New urban communities also have less of an impact on their environment through energy efficiency and less driving.
The diversity within a new urban neighborhood is emphasized as a unique combination of ages, income, cultures, and races see each other on the sidewalks daily. The different designs of housing in close proximity to each other creates diversity as well through the different sizes, types, and prices of homes. The types of businesses and shops seen also shows diversity within these communities.
Altogether, the new urban neighborhood is a better way to make lasting and efficient communities. These places are beneficial to residents through more contact with others, more daily exercise, and greater beauty in their surroundings. The environment is also benefited through less impact on the local environment, less exhaust pollution, and the minimization of urban sprawl.
Suburban neighborhoods promote urban sprawl, traffic, and excess exhaust pollution when everyone drives everywhere. In the suburbs, car crashes are more frequent and pedestrians are in more danger of being hit by a car. Suburbs take up lots of agriculturally suitable land that we should be using for farming. Because suburbs require so much land, the distance across the suburb from your house to work or another destination is to far for most to walk comfortably, causing driving to be the main source of transport for many people living in the suburbs. This reliance on cars causes a large amount of car exhaust to be released, this excess amount of pollution can cause spikes in asthma and other health issues.
New urbanism can be the solution to urban sprawl. The compact design of these old style neighborhoods creates distances from home to other locations to be within comfortable walking or biking distance. More traffic is moved from the streets to the sidewalks causing less driving and less car exhaust. These neighborhoods have many other transportation opportunities than suburban areas that have less efficient use of infrastructure, these other transport options may include public buses or trains. The public interaction of a new urbanism neighborhood is keyed in the public transportation and busy sidewalks where people have a greater chance of interaction than when everyone is shut in their own world inside their cars. The public transportation and easy walking distances also provides a source of activity which will make obesity less of a problem and provides businesses with more traffic because when you are walking, stopping to go inside a store is much more accessible than when you are on the road.
The idea of smart growth is based on shared space and compactness. This means that these places will have more interaction and smaller land areas. There will be plazas, squares, and parks that citizens will have access to for contact with others. Although you might not have large backyards, you wouldn't need them with the availability of open public space this neighborhood provides. Parents do not have to worry as much about taking their children place to place because in these neighborhoods, the parents could watch their kids walk to school or to the park because of the placement of destinations within the compact neighborhood. The amount of businesses closer together creates efficient use of services and places them more conveniently.
The design of these new urban neighborhoods places emphasis on beauty, comfort, and sense of place. There is a public space at the center of the community for public interaction, and the rest of the neighborhood's grid patterned roads are lined with sidewalks for easy walking. These neighborhoods are designed using transect planning, meaning that as you move out from the center, the density decreases. New urban communities also have less of an impact on their environment through energy efficiency and less driving.
The diversity within a new urban neighborhood is emphasized as a unique combination of ages, income, cultures, and races see each other on the sidewalks daily. The different designs of housing in close proximity to each other creates diversity as well through the different sizes, types, and prices of homes. The types of businesses and shops seen also shows diversity within these communities.
Altogether, the new urban neighborhood is a better way to make lasting and efficient communities. These places are beneficial to residents through more contact with others, more daily exercise, and greater beauty in their surroundings. The environment is also benefited through less impact on the local environment, less exhaust pollution, and the minimization of urban sprawl.
In Chapter 13 of AP Human Geography, the term smart growth is defined as regulations to limit suburban sprawl and preserve farmland. New urbanism is a part of smart growth as it is one of the ways to limit suburban sprawl.
I chose this topic because I thought that this way to limit urban sprawl was interesting and I wanted to know more of the benefits of this type of neighborhood compared to the defects of suburbs.
I chose this topic because I thought that this way to limit urban sprawl was interesting and I wanted to know more of the benefits of this type of neighborhood compared to the defects of suburbs.
Watch Jeff Speck's TED Talk video on the Walkable City for more information about this topic.
Sources:
"Learn About New Urbanism." Congress for the New Urbanism. CNU, n.d. Web. 23 May 2014
"New Urbanism." New Urbanism. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2014
"The Walkable City." Jeff Speck:. TED, Sept. 2013. Web. 22 May 2014.
Picture from: http://www.dkpblog.com/2012_10_01_archive.html
"Learn About New Urbanism." Congress for the New Urbanism. CNU, n.d. Web. 23 May 2014
"New Urbanism." New Urbanism. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2014
"The Walkable City." Jeff Speck:. TED, Sept. 2013. Web. 22 May 2014.
Picture from: http://www.dkpblog.com/2012_10_01_archive.html