Although compact, mixed-use urban form achieved such value before 1950, separate-use zoning codes and high-volume road standards subsequently helped to make sprawl today’s default development option. New Urbanists are providing leaders with tools to reverse course and strengthen the character, livability, and diversity of their communities.
Working with new urbanist planners, leaders of Gulf Coast communities such as Moss Point and Gulfport, Mississippi have been proceeding with the creation of form-based SmartCodes that guide development to take the form of coherent, compact neighborhoods featuring shopping, schools, and other uses within walking distance of residences.
The publication Codifying New Urbanism describes New Urbanist essentials, the steps to putting New Urbanism to work in your community, and the successes of 12 communities who have followed the approaches described in the report. It also contains an extensive interview with a practitioner about his experience in championing and implementing New Urbanism.
Countless communities across the country are suffering from the effects of formless sprawl. These communities need tools to combat traffic congestion, pollution, social and economic division, and loss of community interaction. Unfortunately, it is illegal to practice common sense new urbanist planning in many of these places. Smart Codes, aka Form Based Codes, is the method for reigning in sprawl and once again creating livable communities.
-from CNU (congress for the new urbanism)
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