The New Urbanism

Overview

The move to liveable communities--ideal ``small towns'' and neighborhoods where people work, live, play, and walk from place to place--is on. Profit from what a visionary group of architects leading this movement has learned about designing new ``small towns'' in Peter Katz's The New Urbanism. You'll discover the amazing potential for this kind of work as well as case studies, site plans, project analyses, and 180 beautiful photographs. This unique reference also tackles--and answers--the critical issues of crime, health, traffic, environmental degradation, and economic vitality and opens a startling window on the look and feel of future communities. Every designer can profit from this guide to building the utopias of tomorrow--today!

Table of contents

The Region (Peter Calthorpe)
The Neighborhood, the District and the Corridor (Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk)
The Street, the Block and the Building (Elizabeth Moule and Stefanos Polyzoides)
Planning the American Dream (Todd W. Bressi)
Establishing the Urban PatternSeaside
Laguna West
Kentlands
South Brentwood Village
Bamberton
Windsor
Communications Hill
Rosa Vista
A New Village in the Suburbs
Wellington
Reconstructing the Urban Fabric
Cite Internationale
Downtown Hayward
Riviera Beach
Rio Vista West
Downcity Providence
Orange Tree Courts
Atlantic Center
Mashpee Commons
Playa Vista
Jackson-Taylor
Highland District
Clinton
Downtown Los Angeles
The Architecture of Community (Vincent Scully)
PROJECT INFORMATION
CONTRIBUTORS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Review quote

``. . .informative and accessible. . .the highly instructive book is a must for architecture and urban planning collections, and suitable for the general reader.''

Biographical note

Peter Katz is a design and marketing consultant based in San Francisco, California, and Seattle, Washington. He has directed real estate-related projects throughout the U.S. and the Pacific Rim. Katz studied architecture and graphic design at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York, receiving a bachelor of fine arts degree and the Royal Society of Arts (London) honor award upon graduation. Katz lectures frequently on urban issues to university audiences and citizens' groups.

Back cover copy

"A growing movement to replace charmless suburban sprawl with civilized, familiar places that people love." So wrote Time Magazine in a recent article about Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and Peter Calthorpe, leaders of the dynamic urban design revolution coming to be known as the New Urbanism. Their breakthrough planning conceptspropose a vision of the future that combines the best of the past with the realities and modern conveniences of today. Part of a broader trend toward the restoration of community and concern for a more sustainable environment, the New Urbanism addresses many of the crucial issues of our time: the decline of America's cities, the rebuilding of its crumbling infrastructure, housing affordability, crime and traffic congestion. Not without controversy, the proponents of this new design approach suggest bold alternatives to the present sprawl and isolation that they see as the consequence of five decadesof poorly planned suburban growth. Like the successful older neighborhoods and small towns where many of us grew up, the designs of the New Urbanism integrate housing, shops, workplaces, parks and civil facilities into close-knit communities that are both charming and functional. Walkability is key, but cars aren't excluded. Public places lie at the heart of these designs which set aside their most valued sites for parks, schools, churches, meeting halls and other civic uses. Affordability is also an important consideration--a wide range from Seaside, the acclaimed new resort town in Florida's panhandle, to a revitalization plan for the deteriorating core ofdowntown Los Angeles. Also included is a mobile-home village in Arizona (cited by Progressive Architecture in its annual design awards), the rebuilding of the nation's largest "urban renewal" housing project in Texas and a "sustainable community" for 12,000 in British Columbia. Initiated by developers, government agencies and/orcitizen advocacy groups, these pioneering new communities and infill projects offer simple yet compelling solutions to many frequently encountered planning problems. The extensively documented case studies in this book include photographs, drawings, diagrams and urban design codes--more than 500 images in all, a majority of which are in color. Essays by the movement's leading practitioners clearly articulate the principles of the New Urbanism. Commentaries by prominent architecture and urban planning theorists complete this comprehensive publication.The New Urbanism advocates an ambitious yet pragmatic agenda for the building and rebuilding of our neighborhoods, towns and cities. This book provides an invaluable guide to this emerging movement forarchitects, urban planners, civic leaders and concerned citizens; it is also must reading for anyone who cares about the future of America's communities.