Walkable Suburbs?: An Evaluation of Neotraditional Communities at the Urban Edge

Abstract

One of the few alternatives to the suburban sprawl approach to development in recent years has been the “neotraditional” community, characterized by somewhat higher densities, a greater mix of uses, provision of public transit, accommodation of the pedestrian and the bicyclist, and an interconnected pattern of streets. How well has the neotraditional model performed? Two recent prototype neotraditional communities—Kentlands and Laguna West—are analyzed and compared with a traditional turn-of-the-century streetcar suburb—Elmwood—and with conventional late-twentieth-century suburbs, in terms of patterns of built form, land use, public open space, street design and circulation, and pedestrian access. Also considered are issues of transit access; relation to existing metropolitan development; livability for children, teens, and elderly; and market success.