Community Reviews

Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
28(28%)
4 stars
37(37%)
3 stars
35(35%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
100 reviews
July 15,2025
... Show More
New Urbanism is an urban design movement that emerged in the late 20th century.

It aims to create more livable and sustainable communities by emphasizing traditional urban design principles.

These principles include walkability, mixed land uses, high-density development, and the presence of public spaces.

New Urbanism promotes the idea of creating neighborhoods where people can live, work, shop, and play within a short distance.

This reduces the need for long commutes and encourages a more active and social lifestyle.

Developments following the New Urbanism model often feature narrow streets, sidewalks, and bike lanes to facilitate pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

Mixed land uses mean that residential, commercial, and office spaces are integrated, creating a vibrant and diverse community.

High-density development helps to make efficient use of land and reduces sprawl.

Public spaces such as parks, squares, and plazas are an important part of New Urbanism, providing a gathering place for residents and promoting a sense of community.

Overall, New Urbanism offers a promising approach to creating more sustainable and livable cities for the future.
July 15,2025
... Show More
This article is rather boring. It lacks a particularly in-depth exploration of the subject matter. Instead, it seems to advocate for broken windows policing.

It can be worth a skim if one wants to understand the basics of New Urbanism circa 2000. However, it is quite repetitive in its content.

The ideas presented are not developed in a very engaging or thought-provoking way. It fails to offer new perspectives or insights that would make it a more interesting read.

Overall, while it may provide a basic understanding of the topic, it does not go beyond the surface level and leaves much to be desired in terms of depth and originality.

July 15,2025
... Show More
The statement "kinda said the same thing over and over... but yas bring back the traditional neighborhood i love corner stores and neighborhood libraries" is quite interesting.

It seems to express a bit of frustration about repetition yet also a longing for the return of the traditional neighborhood. Corner stores and neighborhood libraries are indeed integral parts of a traditional neighborhood.

Corner stores offer convenience and a sense of community. They are places where people can stop by to pick up essentials, have a chat with the storekeeper, and maybe even run into neighbors. Neighborhood libraries, on the other hand, are a treasure trove of knowledge and a haven for readers. They provide a quiet space for people to read, study, and attend various community events.

Bringing back the traditional neighborhood with its corner stores and libraries would not only enhance the quality of life but also strengthen the sense of community. It would create a more vibrant and livable environment where people can connect with each other and form lasting relationships.
July 15,2025
... Show More
I've probably wanted to read this book for years.

It's a very easy read, extremely approachable, and I firmly believe it will prompt people to think deeply about the suburban experiment.

Suburbs have only truly existed for the past hundred years or so, and they were heavily utilized after cars became a major part of life in the United States. If you visit Europe or other countries, the suburbs, of course, are not quite the same as those in the US for many reasons, but most importantly due to zoning laws.

I read the 10th anniversary edition. Despite this book being rather old, originally written in 2000 with the 10th anniversary in 2010, it remains highly applicable.

The current suburban structure has led to a very expensive infrastructure. It has made us poorer, affected our safety, and created isolation. However, all of this could be improved through different design choices and how we build our communities, including the types of structures, the types of parking, the types of roads, and more.

If you think about the towns or cities you like to visit, chances are it's because of a walkable community and compact development near a core town or city. Of course, most of these towns and cities are old because laws in the past several decades have largely made it illegal to create new towns like they used to.

When we think about old towns that are popular to visit, we can think of Charleston, Savannah. We can also think of New York City as being very popular to visit, and a lot of that is because there are pedestrian-friendly areas, public transportation sometimes, and mixed-use areas. This means that living, working, and recreating are all in the same areas. In these areas, you don't typically see a shopping plaza with tons of parking because those would separate walkable areas and are additionally somewhat of an eyesore. The parking would be set behind the building or on the street. Additionally, these older towns usually function on a traditional grid instead of a segregated subdivision plan, which is much more efficient for handling congestion. It would be similar to parallel or series electrical circuits.

When we think about sprawl, there are subdivisions for housing, business parks for business, and commercial areas, and these are all separated. Additionally, there's a ton of parking which also separates areas.

If we consider the comfort of living in a town or city, a lot of it depends on how easy it is to get around.

Sprawl is what creates many things that we hate but often don't think of as the cause. For example, traffic occurs when towns become more of a thoroughfare and not necessarily a place where people live or a destination. Compact cities are, of course, much cheaper as you don't need roads stretching far out or pipes, electricity, or other infrastructure. Our reliance on cars in the United States makes living here exceptionally expensive. When you consider the cost of a single car, you have to add in the cost of gas per year, insurance, lease or payments, and maintenance. It could easily be $40,000 a year at a time when people are struggling from paycheck to paycheck, yet many need two cars in their household to go about their lives because we don't have access to public transportation or local communities. The reliance on cars is a significant struggle for the middle class.

Some additional discussions include how current planning is based on segregation, both in terms of economic class and race. Additionally, this way of living is very difficult for children as well as the elderly. When older people cannot get to a community area and rely on a car, it becomes very challenging when they are too old to drive or have disabilities that limit their driving. Additionally, it makes children somewhat of a prisoner in a suburban home because there are no areas or interesting places to walk to, so they are reliant on their parents' cars, which again makes traffic worse as parents are shuttling their children to every single activity they are involved in, from school to after-school activities.

Growth can't be stopped, but I think we can all agree that smarter growth would be preferable.
July 15,2025
... Show More
I read this book as part of a class focused on transportation and planning. Do you think it's impossible to get excited about anything related to suburbs? Well, think again.

The remarkable aspect that this book presents is the solutions to all those problems that we often attribute to suburbia, perhaps even unconsciously. The lack of walkability, the seemingly endless parking lots, the absence of vibrant downtowns, the traffic congestion, and the cul-de-sacs - all of these exist for specific reasons. This book delves into the impetus behind the expansion towards the fringe and the development of car-dependent communities. Moreover, it proposes alternative strategies or approaches for enhancing what has already been established.

It's important to note that the authors are developers who give priority to high-density, mixed-use planning. I believe they present persuasive arguments, but this is indeed a prominent theme of the book, and one that you'll need to embrace in order to fully appreciate it.

At the very least, take the time to read the introduction - you'll be amazed at how adeptly they can address the suburban experience and how strongly you can identify with what they're saying.
July 15,2025
... Show More
This is interesting as a snapshot of New Urbanism at the tail end of the twentieth century.

However, parts of it have not aged well. I found the first half, which diagnosed the problems of sprawl, to be more engaging than the last half.

The solutions offered in the latter half often come across as more dogmatic than evidence-supported. The authors are clearly very proud of their planned communities, which they refer to frequently as case studies.

But seventeen years after publication, it's less clear that those artificial neighborhoods achieved all they strove for.

Moreover, while they frequently speak of the importance of urban infill and rehabilitation, the meteoric rise of inner city housing values seems to have outpaced their wildest dreams.

This leaves much of what they have to say about the truly urban environment feeling dated.

Overall, while the article provides an interesting look at New Urbanism during a specific time period, it also has its limitations and不足之处 that become more apparent with the passage of time.
July 15,2025
... Show More
It's not difficult to understand why this book is frequently mentioned by other works related to (new) urbanism. It is clear, accessible, and even manages to be humorously entertaining.

If you reside in a suburb and have inquiries regarding its origin, the forms it adopts, and the reasons why it shouldn't be designed in a certain way, this book is an excellent choice for reading.

If I have any concerns, it is that, firstly, considering it was written in 2003, the authors are blissfully ignorant of the economic upheaval that was about to occur. They may be a bit too optimistic about economic development and stability. Additionally, despite all the discussions about ideology, they are not as aware of some of their own internalized assumptions about race, class, and economic mobility, which is evident in the fact that, secondly, they are quite enthusiastic about broken windows policing (although they do not have the same research on it as we do now). And thirdly, they trust homeowner associations (HOAs) to implement thoughtful local solutions rather than exacerbate NIMBYism, which is rather naïve.

Overall, it is still a fairly solid introduction to the principles of urban layouts that avoids overly technical jargon and offers concrete steps for activists, planners, architects, and policymakers to take back our towns from the dominance of automobiles.
July 15,2025
... Show More
This is clearly a fundamental text for the whole of modern urbanism, and its merits are comprehensively covered.

Regrettably, it is also a foundational work for some urbanists to deny the legacy of racism and the racial and class violence intrinsic to gentrification. Redlining as racial hostility is only briefly mentioned and largely overlooked. The authors casually claim that gentrification can be minimized, yet they offer no statistics or specific instances to support their assertion. This stands in stark contrast to the other parts of the book that are filled with statistics and examples.

So, it is definitely worth reading if you have an interest in this sort of thing. However, take the statements regarding racial and economic injustice with a huge pinch of salt, as they are more about editorializing and skirting around the issue rather than being informative.
July 15,2025
... Show More
The original article is not provided. Please share the article you want me to rewrite and expand so that I can assist you further.
July 15,2025
... Show More
Suburban sprawl is truly a terrible phenomenon.

It's astonishing to see how suburbia has expanded to such a great extent. The uncontrolled growth has led to numerous problems.

For one thing, it has caused a significant increase in traffic congestion. With more people commuting long distances to and from the suburbs, the roads are constantly clogged.

This not only wastes people's time but also has a negative impact on the environment due to increased emissions.

Additionally, suburban sprawl has led to the destruction of natural habitats. Vast areas of land that were once home to wildlife have been converted into housing developments and shopping malls.

This has disrupted the ecological balance and put many species at risk.

Moreover, the lack of a sense of community in the suburbs is another drawback. People often live in isolated houses and have little interaction with their neighbors.

In conclusion, suburban sprawl sucks in so many ways and it's high time we took steps to address this issue.
July 15,2025
... Show More
As an individual with no previous knowledge or background in urban studies, I found this book to be an extremely engaging read.

It presented especially captivating visual examples that vividly illustrated the development of post-war suburban sprawl and the subsequent decline of neighborhood communities in the United States.

The "solutions" proposed under the guise of the (American Dream) appeared to place a bit too much emphasis on idealistic turn-of-the-millennium visions rather than practical and implementable actions.

However, despite this minor shortcoming, the book still offered a plethora of thought-provoking ideas that compelled me to reflect on the complex issues surrounding urban development and community building.

It served as a valuable introduction to the field of urban studies and left me eager to explore more in-depth the various factors and forces that shape our cities and neighborhoods.
July 15,2025
... Show More
Overall, it is not a bad read.

If you are seeking a primer on sprawl and the policies that can deal with it, then this book serves as a very good introduction. It delves into the changes required, starting from the citizen level, progressing through the various urban professions, and up to the three levels of government.

If you have read a significant amount about anti-sprawl and/or sustainable urbanism literature, you will likely discover that this book may not offer overly novel content. However, this is largely because Duany, Plater-Zybeck, and Speck played a substantial role in initially shaping this discussion (as anyone familiar with the history of the Congress for the New Urbanism would probably be aware).

It is a concise text and is perhaps worth reading simply because it is a book about urbanism that has managed to penetrate mainstream consciousness (or at least as mainstream as can be anticipated from a book about sprawl).

In particular, I appreciate that this book not only proposes a better urban future but also presents a solution-based policy prescription, something that I was not initially anticipating when I picked up the book.

Overall, it provides a valuable overview and offers some interesting perspectives on the topic of urban sprawl and its potential solutions.
Leave a Review
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.