A grocery store two blocks away, a transportation network that promotes foot power over auto traffic, and an office building that boosts productivity may seem positive, if unrelated, aspects of daily life.

But, taken in concert with a host of other factors, these and other elements are slowly transforming what it means to live and work within the confines of the city.

Known as “new urbanism,” the movement has catalyzed architects, urban planners and others throughout the country to gradually reinvent neighborhoods within cities of all sizes. Although broad in scope—new urbanism is affecting suburban and undeveloped areas as well—it’s proving a powerful tool to make urban areas more livable in a variety of ways.

“We are coming to realize that we don’t have unlimited resources,” says Don Rudy, a senior project manager at Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate services concern. “We also are finding that, through careful planning and construction, we are building solid buildings and communities that can mature.”

Green and Growing

New urbanism can be seen as an antidote to sprawl—the endless suburbs, strip malls and other byproducts of the exodus from inner-city areas that took place in the 1950s, ’60s and beyond. A basic principle of new urbanism is careful integration of elements—commercial, residential and transportational, among others—that foster closely interwoven communities designed to appeal on both aesthetic and practical levels.

In one respect, that means a particular emphasis on environmentally sensitive construction. To that end, the U.S. Green Building Council, a coalition that promotes environmentally sound building practices, devised the LEED standard (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). LEED is a voluntary national set of guidelines to help develop buildings that are designed to last and perform far better than their conventional counterparts.

That, in turn, has produced office and living facilities that, among other pluses, are built with more reusable materials and are visually appealing. But advantages go beyond the aesthetic. For example, green buildings are exceedingly cost-effective in the use of utilities such as water and electricity. A recent study in California showed that an upfront investment of 2 percent in green building design returned an average life-cycle savings of 20 percent of total construction costs—10 times the initial expense.

Green design has other upsides. With an emphasis on pleasant, supportive indoor environments—emphasizing good air quality and natural light—studies have shown that green office buildings bolster productivity.

“There’s a direct impact on the people who are living and working in these buildings—there’s a definite increase in productivity,” Rudy says. “It just makes good sense on an economic as well as a human scale.”

Everything Old Is New Again

But construction criteria are only one aspect driving new urbanism in metropolitan areas. Logistics play an equally critical role. Rather than starting from square one on completely undeveloped land, many inner-city projects involve renovating existing structures or rebuilding on land formerly used for something else. An equally important consideration is planned space around buildings. Consistent emphasis is placed on the promotion of foot traffic, easy access to mass transportation and, ultimately, a community that works and plays largely within itself by encouraging nearby ancillary development.

“Green building really encourages the reuse of existing buildings,” notes Charlie Popeck, a 1999 MBA graduate of University of Phoenix and president of Green Ideas, a Mesa, Ariz.–based environmental building consulting concern. “It’s also about a sense of integration with other elements, such as being able to walk to shopping, restaurants and entertainment.” Examples of new urbanism are cropping up in a variety of areas:

• Glenwood Park, a mixed-use project located two miles from downtown Atlanta, will feature residential, retail, office and recreational space within a 28-acre site.
• In Denver, which is considered by many to be at the forefront of new urbanism, a project is ongoing to transform the site of the defunct Stapleton Airport into a multi-billion-dollar residential and retail neighborhood.
• Cities such as Hartford, Conn., and Providence, R.I., also are winning praise for urban redevelopment projects integrating work, residential and recreational components.

The Time Has Come

The timing of the upswing in new urbanism projects is both cyclic and circumstantial. On the one hand, given the nature of urban boom and eventual decay, new urbanism authorities say the timing was right for a fresh approach to revitalizing urban areas. But equally influential is the growing financial sense of working with environmentally friendly materials and concepts.

“We’ve reached the tipping point where building materials are less expensive than they used to be,” Rudy says. “It’s simply more economically viable and mainstream.”

Although overall activity is on the rise (there are now more than 1,000 LEED-certified buildings) some caution against how quickly new urbanism may transform the fabric of urban life.

“We’re talking about changing cities a little bit at a time,” says Greg Crawford, a partner at BBG-BBGM, a New York architectural and interior design firm. “It’s incremental. Gradually building back the residential base takes a very long time and it doesn’t really change the entire city.”

But the prospect of a long haul doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm with which new urbanism proponents see the long-term implications of ongoing changes in the life of American cities—change that is aesthetically appealing, enriching and entirely pragmatic.

“This is no fad,” Rudy concludes. “I have great expectations about what will happen over the next 10 years because this is such a fundamentally good thing.”

The Right Fit

To find a city in much the same way that online dating services find your soul mate, take a look at FindYourSpot.com. There, a comprehensive, interactive quiz lets you identify elements that matter to you, including weather, culture, outdoor activities, religion, medical care and more. The program then presents you with 24 suggested locations, along with thorough reports explaining a city’s appeal. FindYourSpot.com is as entertaining as it is useful. As you proceed through the quiz, the program highlights cities that match your criteria as you add details. The quiz also has an edge of humor to its proceedings—for example, in asking whether a major airport is important, one potential response is “No—I fly about as often as a penguin.” Basic services are free. Premium offerings—which include information on jobs and homes for sale—cost $8.95 for a year.

Live With It

With so many factors to consider—personal preferences, professional opportunities, geographical and environmental factors—finding a city the livability of which matches your needs may seem like an endless quest. But one Web site may reduce the necessary legwork.

America’s Most Livable Communities (mostlivable.org) offers a breakdown of a number of cities that are leaders in creative approaches to building attractive and functional urban areas. A project of Partners for Livable Communities, the site suggests large, mid-size and small cities as well as regions that are in the forefront of progressive planning.

Among the recommendations:

large city: Kansas City, Mo. “A Midwestern metropolis with immense diversity. Spread out over 320 square miles, it boasts many distinct neighborhoods.”

mid-size city: Jackson, Miss. “Early each fall, scores of neighborhoods all over Jackson plan for National Night Out— a time to join together with police and city leaders for fellowship and to make a statement that crime won’t be tolerated in this neighborhood and this city.”

small city: Salem, Mass. “The newly transformed downtown boasts an impressive roster of diverse businesses both large and small, and the city’s vibrancy extends to its varied cultural, dining, shopping and recreational offerings.”