New Urbanism Emerged in Response to Sprawl, but Does it Really Offer an Alternative?

Daniel Trudeau guest blogs about a recent article in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.

4 minute read

February 1, 2017, 10:00 AM PST

By JPER


Burnsville, Minnesota

Heart of the City: a New Urbanist development in Burnsville, Minnesota. | Nick Ortloff / Flickr

Guest Blogger: Daniel Trudeau of Macalester College.

Critics of New Urbanism like to point out that, where the movement appears in suburbia, it often creates "suburbs in disguise," effectively recreating the very problems the movement claims to work against. However, such a critique overlooks the multiple forms that New Urbanism takes, even in suburbia. I begin to address this blind spot in my recent article in JPER, titled "Tracing New Urbanism’s Suburban Intervention in Minneapolis-St. Paul." I focus on the impact of two differently designed New Urbanism projects in the Twin Cities area by examining the built environment and residents' lived experiences in Clover Ridge, a greenfield traditional neighborhood development (TND) site on the urban-rural fringe, and Heart of the City, an infill transit-oriented development (TOD) site in a second-ring suburb. I compare these projects with Biscayne Point, a control site on the urban-rural fringe that represents conventional forms of development that manifest as sprawl

Proponents of the New Urbanism frame the sprawling landscape of post-WWII suburbs in America as problematic for its low-density, automobile-oriented landscape that lacks social diversity and produces social isolation. I investigate whether the New Urbanist developments actually provide alternatives by observing each project's urban design and land use and conducting a survey that tracks residents' travel behavior and attitudes toward their neighbors. This allows me to look closely at the physical, functional, and social dimensions of each site.

The results show that the New Urbanist neighborhoods simultaneously challenge and reproduce suburban sprawl. In comparison to a typical sprawling suburban subdivision, the application of New Urbanism in the suburbs of Minneapolis-St. Paul has worked to curb the physical dimensions of sprawl. Heart of the City's built environment is much denser, hosts a variety of non-residential land uses, and limits housing options to apartment- and townhome-style units. Single-family homes are the dominant land use in Clover Ridge, and the overall density of the built environment there is moderate. Although there are a variety of spaces that could accommodate nonresidential land uses, there were relatively few in use at Clover Ridge. Despite this divergence, both projects offer built environments that are denser than Biscayne Point and provide support for walking and public transit use.

A denser landscape does not necessarily lead to behavioral change. Considering transportation mode, residents of Clover Ridge and Heart of the City depend on automobiles for a majority of trips in their everyday lives. Residents in both places do, however, use public transportation at rates that meet or exceed the average for the metropolitan region (see table). Moreover, commuting via public transportation among residents of Heart of the City is considerably high and stands out from the other two communities. This high mode share for public transit was likely accomplished through the neighborhood's greater density and land use diversity. Indeed, the combination of these characteristics helps Heart of the City, but not Clover Ridge, break away from the functional dimensions of sprawl. At the same time, density and diversity present challenges for working against the social dimensions of sprawl.

Both New Urbanist projects contain a large proportion of affordable housing, which has helped to generate income and racial diversity in each place. Tensions surrounding this social mix has emerged in both cases, however. Notably, residents of both New Urbanist projects in the study—mostly white middle-class property owners—indicate that they feel more detached from their neighbors and neighborhood than do their counterparts in the conventional suburban subdivision. In fact, it is common for such residents to indicate a desire to live elsewhere, preferring locations that they see as either more urban or more suburban. Application of New Urbanist design principles has thus produced spaces in Minneapolis-St. Paul wherein class-based differences become clear and those who are better off seem to seek separation from others who are worse off.

New Urbanism's intervention in the suburbs of Minneapolis-St. Paul can thus be seen as transforming the built environment in ways that break away from physical and, to an extent, functional patterns of sprawl. At the same time, this intervention has also struggled to host residents who appreciate or even engage in the ways of life that such environments afford. As a result, these New Urbanist places fail to address and even reproduce some of the critiques of sprawl. Applications of New Urbanism must and should do more to help make neighborhoods generate social interaction that is lasting and positive. I elaborate on a potential way forward in the article. 

Open Access Until March 1, 2017

Trudeau, D., 2016. "Tracing New Urbanism’s Suburban Intervention in Minneapolis–St. Paul." Journal of Planning Education and Research


JPER

In this new series, Journal of Planning Education and Research (JPER) articles will be made available to Planetizen readers subscription free for 30 days. This is possible through collaboration between SAGE Publications and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. JPER is currently edited by Clinton Andrews and Frank Popper of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. The managing editor is Karen Lowrie ([email protected]).

Follow JPER on Twitter: @JPER7

View form second story inside Southdale Mall in Edina, Minnesota with escalators and model cars parked on downstairs floor.

The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall

The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.

March 21, 2024 - Governing

Houston, Texas skyline.

Report: Las Vegas, Houston Top List of Least Affordable Cities

The report assesses the availability of affordable rental units for low-income households.

March 22, 2024 - Urban Edge

White three-story brick single-room occupancy hotel in downtown Los Angeles, California.

‘Micro-Apartment’ Trend Underscores Housing Crisis

SROs are making a comeback under a new name as the housing supply remains strained and costs soar.

March 22, 2024 - Associated Press via Yahoo News

Young man in wheelchair crossing zebra crosswalk.

How to Protect Pedestrians With Disabilities

Public agencies don’t track traffic deaths and injuries involving disabled people, leaving a gap in data to guide safety interventions.

36 minutes ago - Governing

Aerial view of mountain town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado in the winter with snow at dusk.

Colorado Town Fills Workforce Housing Need With ‘Dorm-Style’ Housing

Median rent in Steamboat Springs is $4,000 per month.

1 hour ago - CBS News

Red public transit bus in Bangalore, India.

Indian States Give Women Free Bus Passes

The programs are part of an initiative aimed at helping more women join the workforce and improving access to basic needs.

2 hours ago - Next City

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Write for Planetizen

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.