"Cities are cooperative human enterprises that exist to promote the best life possible for their
citizens," writes Philip Bess, Notre Dame professor of architecture. The list here is a pared-down
version of what he gives students in his graduate Urban Design Studio -- a formulation of
principles commonly held by traditional urbanists. Many of these are implied in the "Charter of
the New Urbanism," available on the web at cnu.org/charter. Bess believes the moral, economic
and environmental benefits of traditional urban neighborhoods are greatly influenced by certain
formal features. Thus, he argues, a good neighborhood:
• Has a discernible center: for example, a public square or main street bordered by civic
buildings, shops and/or residences
• Has a more or less discernible edge where it ends and another neighborhood or
natural feature begins
• Is pedestrian friendly, accommodating cars as well as those who want or need to walk
• Consists of a variety of dwelling types: for example, single-family homes, apartments
above stores and coach houses, which together encourage a healthy economic diversity
• Has stores and offices located at and/or near its centers with enough variety of retail
goods to meet weekly household needs
• Has an elementary school and parks to which most young children can walk
• Has small blocks with a network of through-streets (as opposed to feeder roads and
cul-de-sacs), generous sidewalks and broad planter strips for trees
• Places its buildings close to the street to create a stronger sense of place
• Utilizes its streets for parking, rather than building lots and garages visible from the
street
• Reserves prominent sites for community monuments and civic buildings for
education, religion, culture, sport and government, that front on public squares or terminate the
ends of streets.
Bess and his fellow traditional urbanists point out that neighborhoods that meet this
description -- commonly found in cities, towns and villages built in the United States before
1945 -- are today illegal under postwar codes that zone by single uses and function to separate
people by economic class. "New" urbanism, he says, is merely traditional urbanism in search of
a level legal playing field. It has no interest in taking your car keys away, but if you live in a
good neighborhood you may find your automobile is less a requirement than a pleasurable
convenience.
(January 2008)
