Levitt built 2,000 simple, identical houses for returning GIs in the midst of a nationwide housing crisis. For decades, suburban lifestyle was synonymous with the American Dream. Ward and June Cleaver and Ozzy and Harriet Nelson were TV icons for the millions of families who moved to the suburbs to own their own houses, with lawns and driveways and supermarkets, but precious few sidewalks. New Urbanism, sometimes called neo-traditionalism, looks to the urban neighborhoods and small towns that existed before World War II as a model for the future. In a New Urban neighborhood, streets are places in their own right, not just a void between places.
Parking lots are behind buildings, accessible by alleys.
In Seaside, Florida, an early experiment in New Urbanism, stringent planning codes require that every house have a front porch at least eight feet deep and half the width of the house. The porch is usually 16 feet from the sidewalk. Neighborhood streets are paved with bricks to encourage motorists to slow down. Another Florida development, which has drawn heated criticism, is Celebration, just outside Orlando and adjacent to Walt Disney World. Celebration was built by Disney, and a Disney subsidiary remains active in enforcing the community's rules.