Creating The Perfect Town

New Urbanism And Ready-Made Communities Are Growing In Popularity

(CBS)  Rbycyznski is a professor of urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of a new book about development called "The Last Harvest."

"It's what some farmers call when they sell their land to a developer," he said. "It's the last harvest — which, of course, is a harvest of green."

Rbycyznski says that if farms must give way to development, at least towns like Seaside and Kentlands are welcome improvements over typical tract housing.

"It's shown that Americans are becoming more sophisticated," he said. "We appreciate design. Whether it's, you know, old-fashioned or not, it's still design and it's something that's changed in this country."

And it's not just design that seems to attract residents to places like Kentlands. It's also the sense of community.

"It's real. People take care of each other's dogs and kids," resident Michelle Harris said. "I mean, it's amazing."

As satisfied as people who choose to live in new urban communities say they are, there's just one little problem: they are a distinct minority.

"The typical American family — husband, wife, 2 or 3 kids — a single family detached house, two car garage, preferably two full bathrooms at least, is the preference. And a lot of people like to have a third of an acre yard," said Jerry Howard, CEO of the National Homebuilders Association.

Howard says that today, nearly 2/3 of Americans still aspire to the traditional suburban home. But as baby boomers continue to age, he predicts attitudes will change.

"They wanna be close to things," he said. "They don't want the hassle of taking care of a single family house. Interestingly enough, though, we're starting to see a little bit of a difference in the 20-somethings, the next generation of home buyers. They're less interested in a big house, more interested in a lot of the bells and whistles: the technology that goes into a home. And they're willing to sacrifice size for those kind of things."

But there's been plenty of criticism of places like Kentlands or Seaside. Some people say, 'Come on, these are fake towns, and this isn't what life is all about.'

"I don't see how people can say that [about] places where so many people live real lives," Duany said. "You know, real lives with real jobs and real kids and real problems and real successes. The arrogance of people saying they're not real places, you know, it's just astounding."

So should we look forward to a time when many of us live tightly packed in new, urban communities like this one? Don't bet on it. Utopia or not, Rybcynski says Americans will never give up their freedom to sprawl.

"I'm not worried about that, 'cause it's not all gonna be like that," he said. "We're much too unruly. You know, there are gonna be strip malls. And there are gonna be big box stores. And all of these things are not just going to go way. And it's going to be a mixture of these things as it's always been."

In other words, it's just what the American dream has always promised: The chance to pursue your own idea of Utopia.

[jeorman8]

Good community planning facilitates social networks creating community. I also live in Westhaven,located in Franklin Tennessee. Celebration or Seaside are easy to bash because of the hype fomented by the new urbanist movement. They simply expected too much from these communities. Duany also assisted in planning Westhaven. His contributions extended beyond his lofty new urbanism ideas; helping the SLC town planners with hundreds of details that make Westhaven a better place to live. Frankly, few developers have the staying power to fully implement these details like Southern Land Company has. (See www.westhaventn.com to see what I mean.)
We residents had significant input from the beginning, and still do. Southern Land Company looked to residents to define the culture and they rose to the challenge, helping create a great place. The activities staff focused on connecting people and let the residents create a small town of their own vision. Not Orwellian or fantastic.
Matthew Magallanes of Southern Land Company once told me he didn't much care for the contrived image of new urbanism in spite of Westhaven%u2019s success saying, "TND design is not new, it is old. All my favorite neighborhoods are old TND sections of small towns and big cities all across America. We put a modern spin on an old idea to drive what I prefer to call new small townism, not new urbanism.%u201D Adding, %u201CYou can't create urban in Suburbia, but you can create a small town feel.%u201D

[thgdriver]

So whats the name of the town? At the picture it's called Kentwoods Md. and in the story it's Kentlands Md.

I have to comment to the remarks made by the person who responded to the criticism that towns like Kentlands and Seaside are not really towns after all. He stated that indeed they are because real people who have live there have real jobs, etc. Having never been to Kentlands, I certainly can't comment, but his remarks as it concerns Seaside are laughable. He certainly proved that he has never spent any reasonable amount of time there. Seaside is a coastal resort community consisting mainly of vacation homes. These are million-dollar "second" homes owned mostly by the gentile Southern wealthy out of Birmingham, Nashville and Atlanta. The only people who work near Seaside are the service-class people who support the vacationers who either visit or rent those homes during the season. That area in Northwest Florida is growing, but other than a military presence, retired or otherwise, the service industry is still the most prominent and, of course, pays the worst. There is no sustainable industry there to support the lifestyle contained within Seasise itself.

[hh0404]

Kentlands was not the first. A little bit of research would have told you that the Disney company build Celebration in the 90's. That was the model for all the other cities that followed. And they are as boring as Celebration with that fake atmosphere.

[dmsalazar2]

As a baby boomer, I found myself thinking that this might be a nice fit for my later years. We have Del Webb communities in California but they don't appeal to me. I think a Kentlands-type of planned community appears to be a nice cross between suburbia and city-living. Shopping, a movie theatre, etc., within walking distance would be fantastic. I value a diverse community (in ALL ways), including varied age groups.

[westhaven4]

I live in a sterling example of a "New Urbanism" community called Westhaven in Franklin, TN just south of Nashville. Our "hometown" is four years young and just 30% complete, but I must say the virtue of civil neighborliness and the overall fellowship experience are in abundance here already. Further, the psychological, sociological and physiological benefits of living in such a place, as they pertain to human development, are nurtured through the presence of greater freedoms and opportunities than that of a typical conventional suburban development. Our annual Memorial Day Block Party will be attended by over 1000 people this weekend with smoked pulled pork barbeque and great covered dish food, live music performed by our neighbors (Nashville is Music City, USA afterall!), games for all ages and a sense of good ol' genuine, wholesome, down-to-earth friendliness that made America the best place to live on earth. We celebrate this day and honor the lives that were lost to defend our way of life. Our residents are teeming with authentic Main Street mentalities. We're not a phony, contrived land of make believe "town". This is real--as real as it gets these days in America. And its real good!

[roykelley]

As a Kentlands home owner for many years, I was pleased to see the area in the news. It really is a nice community for those that appreciate the design. It is a pretty area and the sidewalks make walking a pleasure. One of the best things that I do every morning is to walk through Kentlands and the neighboring community of Lakelands. Yes, many restaurants and shopping including Whole Foods are within walking distance for the residents. However, most of the residents still drive to their destinations.

The small lots and white picket fences attract tours of community designers and architects. The garages that face alleys and trash collection in the alleys rather than in the front of the homes help create a positive visual image. The strict architectural controls do test the patience of many owners. Permission is needed if one wishes to add a storm door or change any colors. All of the required fences must be painted white. Kentlands continues to be one of the most popular communities in Gaithersburg, MD.

[vaughanjf]

Part of how the story was told is in the pictures. You may have noticed that the houses were all different, instead of your traditional cookie cutter suburbia. You should also noticed the garage was not part of the front of the homes, but instead a porch was present. Maybe they should have mentioned this in more detail, but some other features were focused on. For example the desire to have a more navigatible community made possible with sidewalks instead of cars. Also, it was presented that there were single family homes, town homes and rentals all in the same area. The homes didn't appear very far apart and didn't have large yards. Instead of mentioning those qualities, she emphasized the shared spaces or examples of mixed use residential and commercial buildings. While more time could have been spent on the subject, part of the beauty of TV is not having to say everything.

[newsfan13]

I agree with the disappointment expressed by the previous poster. While I found the introduction to the story to be intriguing, I was left waiting for the story to happen. All I kept hearing was that these communities were different, innovative, and the source of controversy between supporters and detractors. But I never learned why. I found the whole piece to be much like those annoying entertainment news shows and I was left asking the question, "so, what is your point?%u201D

[kp74]

As someone who lives in a small town. It's the community that creates it. NOT a few architect trying to make a fanatsy world. It doesn't worl that way. BTW NO town is "perfect".

[jarryr]

I was disappointed with your reporting this story. I have always thought of your show as different in that you take time to explain the issue without sensationalism, not in this case. You went solely for the sensation without taking a moment to explain what made the planned communities like seaside different. Shame on you! Are you falling into the sound bite world too???