Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
27
Criticisms of New Urbanism
The NU approach is often lauded as the solution to the ills of the modern metropo-
lis, and planners and developers have embraced many of its ideas. Yet despite the
appeal of many of the ideas, NU has also met with a number of criticisms (Ellis
2002
), related to five main issues: sprawl, mixed functions, nostalgia, social rela-
tions, and the extent to which they create good communities and authenticity.
2.7.1
Sprawl
Since NU aimed to remedy urbanism by addressing the suburban sprawl of the mod-
ern metropolis, one of the first and most obvious criticisms is the ability of NU as a
movement to solve this problem. Critics argue that since many NU projects are built
on the suburban periphery as discrete subdivision developments, often disconnected
from the existing urban fabric (Ford
1999
), these represent little more than a prettier
form of planned sprawl or simply suburbs in disguise (Thomspon-Fawcett
1996
).
Furthermore, one of the key problems of sprawl that NU hopes to remedy is the
reliance on the automobile, for travel within the development, and for commuting
to the central city or other employment centres. Many critics argue that there is little
evidence for reduced car use in NU developments and that automobile commuting
patterns may be little different to that of conventional suburbs (Crane
1996
; Poghar-
ian
1996
; Lund
2003
; Khattak and Rodriguez
2005
). Even within the developments,
where New Urbanists deliberately design for increased pedestrianization and pedes-
trian safety, increased levels of safety from traffic remain questionable (Southworth
1997
). So it is difficult to see this handful of new NU developments, especially the
NTD form, as any panacea for suburban sprawl (Schleimer
1993
), especially since
so few of the new suburbs in current cities fully adhere to NU principles.
2.7.2
Mixed Functions
One reason why NU communities may not demonstrate significantly reduced au-
tomobile usage may be linked to an additional criticism. This is the limited success
of providing enough mixed functions in these communities, especially in terms of
workplace and retail functions. To some extent, critics argue that these developments
have not been successful at creating communities where people live and work (or
telecommute), and have typically not integrated sufficient or diverse enough retail
functions (Grant
2006
; Crane
1996
; Steiner
1998
). Indeed, most are far too small
to be self-contained entities in shopping or other activities, a problem of previous
neighbourhood designs that go as far back as Perry (
1926
). In some NU develop-
ments, even the limited retail space that does exist struggle to maintain tenants, or
has high business turnover. In McKenzie Towne (Calgary), for example, the small
