New urbanism is increasingly applied to revitalize diverse urban neighborhoods. It seeks to foster place identity, sense of community and environmental sustainability. New urbanist’s urban projects involve a mix of single-family and multi-family housing, a streetscape that encourages pedestrian use, and some form of public space. It supports creating a provision of range of housing prices and housing types in each community which will “bring people of diverse ages, race, and incomes into daily interaction” [Kristen Day, 2003]. One important challenge that needs to be discussed is the diversity of residents in many urban neighborhoods, which may render new urbanist design particularly unsuitable for several reasons. Iris Young identifies shortcoming
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Suburban sprawl is cancerous growth rather than healthy growth, and it is destroying our civic life. In the traditional American town, what is important is not what buildings are used for but the buildings' size and disposition toward the street. Buildings of similar size and characteristics tend to be compatible regardless of their use [Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, 1992]. With the growing number of people moving into suburbs and the increase in services and facilities, we need to reverse the formula of having buildings of varying sizes, but ensuring homogenous uses can be a challenge. Many neighborhoods may face problems like poverty, lack of jobs, poor schools, etc. Thus, another challenge to look whether physical solutions will ameliorate the problems is to identify which problem needs to be addressed first. Because you are planning for a diverse group, people may have different understanding and expectations of what mixed use or public space is. Diverse groups may not all feel equally comfortable participating in urban planning or “governmental” related activities. This can be a challenge when public involvement is initiated during the planning process. New Urbanist participatory design process may not accommodate diversity, requiring more attention to how locally relevant features are identified. One of the biggest challenges that need to be addressed while planning New Urbanist neighborhoods is displacement. Neighborhood renovation may displace low-income residents and thus it is important to design a strategy to maintain affordability for residents and businesses. Another challenge is to keep traffic under control and avoid congestion. Building more highways to reduce traffic congestion is an exercise in futility [Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, 1992]. Whenever it is done, more people are encouraged to take to their cars, and before long the roads are as clogged as ever.
Suburban sprawl is cancerous growth rather than healthy growth, and it is destroying our civic life. In the traditional American town, what is important is not what buildings are used for but the buildings' size and disposition toward the street. Buildings of similar size and characteristics tend to be compatible regardless of their use [Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, 1992]. With the growing number of people moving into suburbs and the increase in services and facilities, we need to reverse the formula of having buildings of varying sizes, but ensuring homogenous uses can be a challenge. Many neighborhoods may face problems like poverty, lack of jobs, poor schools, etc. Thus, another challenge to look whether physical solutions will ameliorate the problems is to identify which problem needs to be addressed first. Because you are planning for a diverse group, people may have different understanding and expectations of what mixed use or public space is. Diverse groups may not all feel equally comfortable participating in urban planning or “governmental” related activities. This can be a challenge when public involvement is initiated during the planning process. New Urbanist participatory design process may not accommodate diversity, requiring more attention to how locally relevant features are identified. One of the biggest challenges that need to be addressed while planning New Urbanist neighborhoods is displacement. Neighborhood renovation may displace low-income residents and thus it is important to design a strategy to maintain affordability for residents and businesses. Another challenge is to keep traffic under control and avoid congestion. Building more highways to reduce traffic congestion is an exercise in futility [Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, 1992]. Whenever it is done, more people are encouraged to take to their cars, and before long the roads are as clogged as ever.