Their first major project, designed in the 1980s, was Seaside, a planned resort community on Florida's panhandle. Houses in Seaside are spaced close together on small lots, streets are narrow to encourage walking, and local shops are located within walking distance of all development. Moreover, when people are shown images of both sprawl and traditional communities, they overwhelmingly prefer the latter. 3 New urbanism is not without its detractors. Towns are often created from scratch instead of molded from existing development.
Design codes can be strict, limiting choice in housing type and decoration.
Most importantly, new urbanist towns remain dependent on the automobile because sustainable employment for residents is not part of the master plan. The mass transit that planners envision connecting new towns to cities is almost never built. While it may not be feasible or desirable to create new towns, the principles of new urbanism can be extremely useful in creating a plan to preserve town character and guide future development. By rethinking common approaches to planning, more attractive and inviting communities can be created. 4 Cluster Zoning Cluster or open space zoning has been around for at least three decades.