LITR 5737: Literary & Historical Utopias
Historical Presentation 2007
Yvonne Hopkins
June 28, 2007
New Urbanism
An Alternative to Automobile-Oriented Planning and Development
Definition
New Urbanism is a concept designed to create Human scale pedestrian communities in an attempt to restore a sense of “place” to American urban life. Sometimes called Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND), the concept envisions a return to neighborhoods and communities that once “gave such vibrancy, coherent continuity, and stability to urban life.”
Background
The movement originated in the 1970s when architects, planners, and developers organized to oppose the fragmented separate use pattern of conventional suburban development (CSD), more commonly known as “sprawl.”
- CSD became popular after WWII with the development of the suburbs
- Problems – spreading out caused increased dependence on cars, restricted mobility, landscape dominated by strip malls, auto-oriented civic and commercial buildings, bland subdivisions etc.
Principles of NU
- Walkability – most things within 10 minute walk of home and work,
pedestrian friendly street design (houses close to street,
speed limits, pedestrian only streets in places)
- Connectivity – street grid network disperses traffic and eases
walking, high quality pedestrian network and public
realm makes walking pleasurable
- Mixed Use and Diversity – mix of housing, shops, offices, apartments,
houses, schools; diversity of people – ages,
incomes levels, cultures, races
- Mixed Housing – types, size, price
- Architecture and Design – emphasis on aesthetics, comfort, sense of
place
- Traditional Neighborhood Structure – discernible center, public space at
center, park, civic buildings;
-- Transect planning: highest density in center, progressively less dense
towards the edge of town
- Smart Transportation – a network of high quality trains connecting cities,
towns, neighborhoods; bicycles, rollerblades,
Ecotopia Alviso p.26-27 description of train, city center, pedestrian aspects
New Urbanism – Is it for real?
www.newurbannews.com/AboutNewUrbanism.html
Course Objectives
3a. To investigate historical, nonfiction attempts by “communes,” “intentional
communities,” or even nations to put utopian ideals into practice. Admittedly,
all utopian communities eventually fail (or at least submerge), but how to get
beyond “They don’t work” as a discussion stopper? (For instance, even if all
utopias fail, that doesn’t stop people from imagining or attempting utopias.)
3b. Are utopian impulses limited to socialism and communism, or may
freemarket capitalism also express itself in utopian terms and visions. Is
utopia “progressive / liberal / “ or “reactionary / conservative?” What
relations between “self and other” are modeled?
3d. In postmodern history, is the utopian impulse extinct? Can utopian ideals
survive the postmodern universal of irony?
4a. What academic subjects or disciplines are involved with utopian studies?
Questions
What are the differences (if any) between the concept of New Urbanism and other utopian concepts discussed in class?
Given similarities and differences, is New Urbanism a viable and sustainable design for living?