Green Daily

New Urbanism is a movement that strives to create walkable, neighborhood-based development as an alternative to suburban sprawl. New Urbanism promotes neighborhoods with a town center that is close enough for the residents to walk to within five minutes, with a variety of dwelling types, with narrow streets to slow traffic, along with parking lots and garages located at the back of the buildings. New Urbanism is also called Traditional Neighborhood Design.

Phillip Proefrock talks about New Urbanism in his Green Communities series. Proefrock suggests that even the greenest building or home may not be that green. Proefrock states, "The best-intentioned and highest-rated building could, in fact, be less green in its overall effect if its location is responsible for adverse effects."

My county has two newly-built communities touted as New Urbanism communities, with all of the aspects listed above. In my opinion, it didn't seem that the residents of these communities drove less than anyone else in the towns though. The residents still had to drive to get to work, to do major shopping trips and to take their kids to schools. Unless there are jobs you can walk to or take public transportation to (within reason), how can these communities perform any better on the driving front? On the plus side, they did use less land per house than traditional suburban design these days, reducing sprawl.

Are there any New Urbanism communities popping up near you? What is your perception of their eco-friendliness?