Additional Myths About New Urbanism

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FROM THE LEFT:
NU ignores or exacerbates underlying social problems.

Many of these critics have a fairly good understanding of the problems that cities and regions face. However, they have been given an incomplete view of the breadth of NU. New Urbanists have engaged fully in work that addresses social issues, including subsidized housing, jobs-housing balance...

Examples: (excerpts from Planning Commissioners Journal)

NU ignores accessibility.

The SmartCode requires visitability throughout. Many New Urbanist developments have elevators in multistory buildings, and many have more housing units in these elevator buildings than in walk-ups.

Even the much-disputed townhouses with raised front porches can easily have a zero-step entrance at the side or rear. To the extent that New Urbanism can offer more transportation choices than conventional suburban sprawl, it will improve accessibility for many disabled individuals who cannot drive, like the blind or deaf.

FROM THE AVANT GARDE:
NU is obsessed with revivalist styles.

Counter: many noted avant-garde architects have worked within NU:
- Holl at Seaside
- Gehry in Berlin
- several at Celebration
- several at Cité International (Montréal)
- several at Aqua (Miami Beach)

Several cities that Modernists largely applaud (San Diego, Vancouver) have avowedly New Urbanist planning officials. (Get them on the record?)

Examples: (any number of academic papers, trendoid architects speaking disparagingly, Reed K.)

NU creates "fake" places.
Critics claim that New Urbanist places feel contrived and are an unacceptable substitute for "real" (often "gritty") urban places.

Counter: Time is the essential ingredient that makes places feel "real." NUists are creating great places that will mature into even better places. Many of the "real" urban neighborhoods that these critics enjoy today once felt raw and contrived, as well, back when the buildings were new, the residents were uniformly middle class, and the trees were tiny. Historic Urban Planned Communities

New Urbanism is Nostalgic? Well, nostalgia is, literally, a longing for home. It seems strange that our critics want to tell people they shouldn't long for home, for the strong sense of place that the New Urbanism stands for.

Example: Sep/Oct Preservation magazine piece by Sudip Bose

FROM THE RIGHT:
NU is unrealistic (reactionary?) and counters dominant social trends.

Examples: Joel Kotkin, Robert Bruegemann

NU is social engineering.

Examples: Greenhut/OC Register, SocialEngineeringAndTotalitarianMyth