Usgbc Emerald Coast Presentation

New and Old Urbanism: Designing Communities for People and Nature

Christian Wagley

www.sustainabletownconcepts.com

Land development is occurring at a far

higher rate than population

growth, resulting in sprawl. In the nation’s

34 metropolitan areas with populations

greater than one million people, between

1950 and 1990 the population increased

92.4%, while the urbanized land area grew

by 245%, or 2.65 times the population

growth rate.

Source: Our Built and Natural Environments: A Technical Review of the Interactions Between Land Use, Transportation, and Environmental Quality, USEPA

From 1990 to 1996, Pensacola's urbanized land area

has exploded, growing from 174 square miles to

337 square miles, a nearly 95 percent increase. In

the same time period, the area's population only

increased from 270,000 to 280,000. Those 10,000

new citizens of the Pensacola metro region overlay

a land area increase of 163 square miles, which

translates into roughly 63 people per square mile.

Compared to Pensacola's 1990 population density

of 1,551 persons per square mile, this new growth

pattern epitomizes sprawl.

Source: 1998 Sierra Club Sprawl Report

We drive up and down the gruesome, tragic suburban boulevards of commerce, and we're overwhelmed at the fantastic, awesome, stupefying ugliness of absolutely everything in sight -- the fry pits, the big-box stores, the office units, the lube joints, the carpet warehouses, the parking lagoons, the jive plastic townhouse clusters, the uproar of signs, the highway itself clogged with cars -- as though the whole thing had been designed by some diabolical force bent on making human beings miserable. And naturally, this experience can make us feel glum about the nature and future of our civilization.

James Howard Kunstler, Home from Nowhere, 1996

air pollution

water pollution

global warming

habitat alteration

The Congress for the New Urbanism views disinvestment in central cities, the spread of placeless sprawl, increasing separation by race and income, environmental deterioration, loss of agricultural lands and wilderness, and the erosion of society's built heritage as one interrelated community-building challenge.

Charter of the New Urbanism

compact

mixed-use

walkable

Source: Environmental Building News, September 1, 2007

Comparing Transportation and Operating Energy Use for an Office Building

For an average new office building built

to code, transportation accounts for

more than twice as much energy use as

building operation.

human-

scale, people-

friendly

street grid

beauty

environmental benefits

“The results of this analysis

suggest that strong support for

infill development can be one

of the most effective

transportation and emission-

reduction investments a region

can pursue.”

“Many communities assume that low-density development automatically protects water resources. This study has shown that this assumption is flawed and that pursuit of low-density development can in fact be counterproductive, contributing to high rates of land conversion and stormwater runoff and missing opportunities to preserve valuable land within watersheds.”

“Curbing emissions from cars depends on a three-legged stool: improved vehicle efficiency, cleaner fuels, and a reduction in driving...The research shows that one of the best ways to reduce vehicle travel is to build places where people can accomplish more with less driving.”

Promoting higher-density infill development, statewide high-speed

rail, and local transit could accommodate population growth to 2060 in a

way that reduces land loss to development from 7 million acres to 1.6

million acres.

Florida 2060: A Population Distribution Scenario for the State of Florida

health obesity Blue Zones

Where is the new in new urbanism?

Why aren’t we building more sustainable communities in the form

of traditional neighborhoods? Communities that use less water

and energy, generate less stormwater runoff, reduce air and

water pollution, and preserve open space…

It’s illegal to build traditional neighborhoods in most communities in America

Form-based codes support these outcomes:

walkable and mixed-use

neighborhoods, transportation options, conservation

of open lands, local character, housing diversity, and

vibrant downtowns.

Form-based codes discourage these outcomes:

sprawl development, automobile dependency, loss

of open lands, monotonous subdivisions, deserted

downtowns, and unsafe streets and parks.

We cannot create truly green buildings, or a truly green community, until we change the rules of development .

Are you ready to change the rules of development and

create a healthy, vibrant, sustainable

community?