New Urbansim (Congress of New Urbansim) is an organization that promotes an approach to development that has a focus on walkable, neighborhood based communities that offer an alternative to the urban sprawl that has dominated the American urban fabric since post WWII era development.

While I don't adhere to all of their tenants, I do believe that these ideas deserve to be spread to a wide audience.

CNU is a multidisciplinary organization aiming to rebuild the community and in the process save the environment. Many new urbanist based communities have been planned and built in the US and I feel that this is the way of the future. Take a look for yourself and see what you think.

www.cnu.org

eh, thanks for the insight. I think I am going to dig a little deeper into New Urbanism. Has anyone ever been to a New Urbanist community? Does it feel any different than a typical suburb?

Indeed I have been to one. Coffee Creek Center in Northern Indiana. http://www.coffeecreekcenter.com/
I was there while the project was still in its late developmental phases but on a whole it was a wonderfully nice community.

It was shoe horned into an area that still showed signs of standard development and included a constructed wetlands and many natural features. I can't say that all the houses suited me or that I truly thought it was walkable in a year round sense, but it was more quaint, quiet and serene that most suburban tract home neighborhoods today.

There were attempts to bring amenities close to the residential areas, but there wasn't enough to support an entire community.

Its a great concept and when taken seriously it can have an impact, but as with any idealistic utopian type solution, there are short coming to the execution of the plans.

I've been to Coffee Creek as well. I don't how different it really feels. Its nicer. It feels a little like an upscale planned community wedged at the edge of the urban fabric. The contractors paid extra attention to details and they have conservationists and environmental engineers working up there all the time.

It works in a small setting, but the broader applicability of New Urbanist ideals is still suspect.

Coffee Creek? Never heard of it. The one I have been to is Seaside in Florida. It's supposed to be the first ever New Urbanist community. It was designed by Andres Duany and someone else I can't remember. The density of development and the interspersing of functions makes it very walkable and I am wondering if the climate makes it more successful than other developments further north.

New Urbanism seems to dovetail nicely into some of the ideas I have been hearing surrounding the redevelopment of our country's infrastructure. Walkable communities with an eye toward public transit and ecological stewardship sounds like a direction we should all be headed.

the ideas of New Urbanism are spreading and there are actually entire communities that have adopted more than just a few of the tenants. I am not saying that new urbanism is the ultimate solution, but the ideas have the potential to move us forward.