The new Kentlands development in Gaithersburg, Maryland

"The New Urbanism is a reaction to sprawl. A growing movement of architects, planners, and developers, the New Urbanism is based on principles of planning and architecture that work together to create human-scale, walkable communities.

"From modest beginnings, the trend is beginning to have a substantial impact. More than 600 new towns, villages, and neighborhoods are planned or under construction in the US, using principles of the New Urbanism. Additionally, hundreds of small-scale new urban infill projects are restoring the urban fabric of cities and towns by reestablishing walkable streets and blocks."

(Robert Steuteville, New Urban News)

• Overview: New Urbanism defined, plus the 13 principles of working neighborhoods from "New Urban News."

• Smart Growth America: Smart Growth America is a nationwide coalition promoting a better way to grow.  One that protects farmland and open space, revitalizes neighborhoods, keeps housing affordable, and provides more transportation choices.

• Virtual New Urbanist Neighborhood:  Explore a virtual New Urbanist Neighborhood at National Geographic.

• The Transect: Developed by Andres Duany and DPZ, the Transect is a categorization system that organizes all elements of the urban environment on a scale from rural to urban.

• Slideshow: An online slideshow about New Urbanism.

• Congress for the New Urbanism: the major professional organization.

• Lexicon of the New Urbanism:  Today, strip malls are called "town squares," six-lane suburban arterials are called "parkways," and cookie-cutter housing subdivisions are called "villages." Lexicon of the New Urbanism is establishing a vocabulary and set of standards of urban form for planners, developers and citizen activists to use in the creation of traditional neighborhoods.

• Divided We Sprawl. A call for the reinvention of the American city and suburb that would exploit the infrastructure of the one  and mitigate the "frantic privacy" of the other.

• A Conservative Case Against Suburbia.  "If we step back and compare suburbs to the ways people have lived for most of human history, we see that suburbia is actually a fairly radical social experiment, and one directly linked to many modern woes."

• Antidotes to Sprawl Taking Many Forms.  State and local initiatives are currently supporting projects as varied as the reconfiguring of a fishing village on Long Island, the conversion of an 1856 lock factory in a rundown section of Norwalk, Conn., into office space and the transfer of development rights from tracts of privately owned wilderness to parcels already zoned for construction.

• New Urbanist Communities near Syracuse:

  • Annesgrove, a "new traditional" neighborhood being built in Camillus.

• New Urbanist Communities around the country:

  • Ladysmith, Virginia. "A new community to live, work and play, where traditional values and modern lifestyles find perfect harmony."

  • Middleton Hills, Wisconsin. "Middleton Hills is a neighborhood for the present, designed with a sense for the past."

  • I'On, South Carolina.  I'On is a Lowcountry village of remarkable architectural and natural beauty, shimmering lakes and salty creeks, fine eateries and offices you can walk to, and ample spaces to play. I'On is a place to LIVE.

  • Mashpee Commons, Massachusetts.  "Mashpee Commons embodies traditional New England style."

  • Amelia Park, Florida.  "If you've ever imagined what it would be like to combine the community values of a traditional neighborhood with the modern conveniences of the new millennium... well, here we are."

  • Glenwood Park, Atlanta. "With a mix of pleasant tree-lined streets, city houses, townhouses, apartments, stores, and parks, we are creating a lively new city neighborhood two miles from the center of downtown Atlanta."