New Urbanism

By: Josh West

New Urbanism is a planning and development approach based on principles of how cities, towns and communities had been built for the last several centuries: walkable blocks and streets, housing and shopping in close proximity, and accessible public spaces. Within this new era, public spaces are a high priority, functional designs and the use of underutilized spaces are focused on the most. By understanding the spaces that are not used as much, can be transformed into lively main streets or boulevards through new urbanism design. “Above all, New Urbanism is about creating sustainable, human-scaled places where people can live healthy and happy lives.” Relating this to Charleston, South Carolina, the need for better connection with the immediate area of the site is a must and by creating this connection, residents of Charleston can live a healthy and happy life with the help of new urbanism. Over the past twenty-five years, the new urbanism movement has changed the conversation from debating the alternative forms of development to discussing how best to preserve, design, develop and restore our regions, cities and neighborhoods. New urbanism includes mixed-use development, transit-oriented and traditional neighborhood design to bring new to their designs. The core of any developing process is creating a region made up of hierarchy of social and political groups, following a pattern, to create a well-rounded community. This pattern can be used for just a single, mixed-use building to an entire community. By implementing New Urbanism principles, cities can grow extensively and expand their neighborhoods and create a greater unity within their city and surrounding areas. The main new urbanism principles are:

·         Walkability

·         Connectivity

·         Mixed-use Diversity

·         Mixed Housing

·         Quality Design

·         Traditional Community Structure

·         Increased Density

·         Transportation

·         Sustainability

·         Quality of Life