Outlying counties, by contrast, have grown with abandon, using their resources to keep up with developers leapfrogging from one vacant field to the next. These developments reflect a shift in philosophy among business and governmental leaders that it makes more sense to invest public and private resources in revitalization of existing neighborhoods than to push development to the metropolitan periphery. Freeman and others in Hampton Roads take their cue from the New Urbanism movement. New Urbanism projects also seek to enhance the sense of community by focusing development into neighborhoods. It's tragic, Freeman says, to devote large tracts of undeveloped urban land to a single purpose like housing or office.
Nothing connects the buildings together.
There is no community among buildings in that type of development. New Urbanism appeals to the new generation of business leadership. Old Economy companies housed all business functions under a single corporate roof. Largely self-sufficient, they could operate comfortably in isolated office parks. But small, fast-growing New Economy companies outsource many traditional corporate functions.