Which brings me back to the New Urbanist annual meet-up last week in Denver. … For years, their stock-in-trade was the greenfield New Town or Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND), a severe reform of conventional suburban development. That sort of reform work was only possible when 1.) the continued expansion of suburbia seemed utterly inevitable, requiring heroic mitigation and 2.) when they could team up with the production home-builders to get their TND projects built. To the group’s credit, they realize that these conditions are no more. Suburbia is now cratering, both as a repository of wealth in real estate and as a practical matter of everyday existence.
This is Kunstler being his usual cantankerous self, but it gets me to wondering about the future of development here in Lancaster County.
Paged through the Parade of Homes book in our Sunday paper this last weekend, and as always, got angry. Single-family homes starting in the $300s; and of course plenty of grandiose new suburban homes topping half a mil and beyond. But who’s buying these things - especially now?
Now would be the time when people would seem to want a TND, or at least something along the line of what’s been proposed here - walkable communities close amenities so you don’t always have to hop in the minivan to go get a loaf of bread. Perhaps along public transit. But if that option is now going down the toilet - what then?
