Revive the architectural designs for homes, parks, and public buildings that once produced wonderful American towns and neighborhoods. Kunstler reports that across the country such work is now being taken up by a group of architects who call their movement the New Urbanism. In vivid profiles, Kunstler describes how New Urbanists are building communities that focus on compact walkable neighborhoods, where bicycles and mass transit are regarded as essential means of transportation. New Urbanist neighborhoods have alleys where detached garages are located. Some of the garages have rental apartments on the second floor.
Homes are closer to the street and are built on much smaller lots.
Streets are narrower and they connect to each other unlike the dead end cul de sacs that proliferate in contemporary developments. New Urbanist neighborhoods also have schools, churches, parks, offices, small businesses, and apartments above the stores. In effect, New Urbanist neighborhoods are complete communities, like the older neighborhoods of Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Ann Arbor. They also are the same sort of thriving places that were once the norm in the United States. I share the belief of its members that if we can repair the physical fabric of our everyday world, many of the damaged and abandoned institutions of our civic life may follow into restoration.