Walking and Biking in a New Urban World: Presented by Brian Rottingen

New Urbanism: In the mid 1990’s a group comprised of planners, developers, architects, scholars, elected officials and citizens gathered to form the Congress for the New Urbanism. The CNU would become an influential proponent for sustainable living and community design.Congress for the New Urbanism

The Problem: “The Congress for the New Urbanism views disinvestment in central cities, the spread of placeless sprawl, increasing separation by race and income, environmental deterioration, loss of agricultural lands and wilderness, and the erosion of society's built heritage as one interrelated community- building challenge.” 1996 Charter of the New Urbanism

History: After World War II, many families (predominantly white, middle to upper income) left America’s urban centers to live in single-use suburban developments. Personal vehicles enabled a dramatic separation of residential, commercial, and public structures. THE PAST: mixed use THE PRESENT: single use

History: Prior to suburban migration, urban design was oriented toward the pedestrian rather than the automobile.

History: Historically, towns and urban villages were planned with the prospect of positive human interaction. Within a five minute walk from one’s home, one could find a park, post office, house of worship, or market.

Benefits: Walkability Popular destinations such as San Francisco, New Orleans, Charleston, Savannah, Greenwich Village, and Key West attract visitors not just for their history, architecture and entertainment, but for the ability to walk or bike from your guest house/ hotel room to local attractions. A health inducing novelty for the vacationing suburbanite!!

Benefits: Reduced Traffic While New Urbanism emphasizes traditional neighborhood planning on a human scale, it recognizes the necessity for vehicular access. However, mixed use communities with increased density lend themselves to a decreased reliance on costly, dangerous and environmentally unfriendly personal vehicles. Jobs are closer to home and public transportation is economically viable with more riders available.

Summary: The New Urbanism philosophy has become a primary component of “smart growth” policies. Governments at the local, state, and federal levels recognize that building “green” or “sustainable” communities entails policies that encourage developers to contribute to the revival of traditional neighborhoods.

Summary: While efforts such as the promotion of alternative fuels and fuel efficiency standards are a positive measure toward sustainability, pedestrian and bicycle friendly planning of communities through mixed use development offers greater solutions to the many environmental, social and health problems we face today. Sprawl reduction is the ultimate strategy.

All images were obtained from free Google image Files with the exception of The CNU group photo.