Country: United States
Interests and Hobbies: Among other labels, I consider myself to be a new urbanist. Fostered years ago, my interest in new urbanism began in my teen years after a visit to the first new urbanist town (seaside florida). Later, discontent began to grow within me towards city planners, architects, and developers, and their numerous failures at painting our nation's landscape. Rarely, a day goes by where I am not presented with a barrage of visual evidence that Americans have dotted the planet with structures that are ugly; roads that are in gridlock; and neighborhoods that lack a sense of place. As a result, people lack pride in their environment; communities are deadened by poorly planned tract housing; lots become disconnected entities; people are not able to commune with one another or with nature (because it's gone); and our entire ecosytem has suffered.
Movies and Shows: What is new urbanism? It's about smart growth and intelligent design. It's about revamping existing communities. It's about arhchitects, city planners, and developers using their skills to work against sprawl, and helping to correct the devastation which they have created over the last number of decades. It's a movement towards yesterday.
Music: My pet peeve: Developers who incorrectly call their neighborhoods a TND or new urban concept, yet fail to utilize the the majority of smart growth principles. This deceitful practice accounts for a large percentage of developments that are touted as New Urbanist models. Such mislabeled developments often CONTRIBUTE to sprawl, yet developers feel entitled to the new urban term, simply based on using a few guiding aesthetic designs. When developers ignore a large number of the most important philosophies and planning principles of NU, it simply results in an aesthetically new version of the same old problem. Unfortunately, these tricky developers give true new urbanist plans a bad reputation...as most people fail to understand the difference.
Books: What has the new urbanist movement accomplished? More than could ever be written. Often the biggest accomplishments are in what one will NOT see (6 lane highways never built; unsuitable buildings in a given transect; bumper to bumper traffic). New urbanism has prevented numerous country roads from becoming congested highways (in places all over the globe). Development should support walkability and sustainability, while structures are human scale and maintain the essence of the surrounding community. For example, many segments of country road 30A in florida remain the charming, shaded, and pedestrian friendly road...but was once in threat of resembling the main strip of destin florida(had it not been for the beginning of nw urbanism). New Urbanist function as architectural preservationsist for both large existing cities and rural areas. When development occurs, NU follows Community sustainability guidelines.
Website: http://www.mungbeing.com/issue_11.htm...