That said, I don’t think we need to toss the entire neighborhood model concept out the window either. There are feature to Developments that we really need to address. I repeatedly hear from friends who move from rural areas into subdivisions that they knew their neighbors better when they were a mile away (or more). Neighborhoods need simple features like sidewalks, community gathering spots, and other features that encourage community interaction. The old cul-de-sac model just doesn’t work, and can no longer be considered sustainable.

Josh – you are absolutely right. What irritates/concerns me is the hypocrisy of those building “pedestrian friendly” developments when clearly at this (or the near/distant future) stage of our region’s development, that’s a false selling point.

Sean & Josh – Absolutely. Until our region has a viable transit network, we’ve got a long, long way to go.

Using the Hollymead Town Center as an example – who is going to access it by bike? Crossing 29 North is a lesson in futility or mortality.

It’s great that people are thinking about smart growth in Charlottesville, but this is not a large metropolis, and no matter how great our bus system becomes, a huge portion of the region’s population will remain unserved/underserved by it. This is not Arlington or Alexandria. We have no Metro, nor is one coming. Our population density is not that high, nor are we that rich, nor (thankfully) are we that eminent-domain-happy. No “town center” development that discourages drive-in traffic could survive here outside of very close proximity to the UVa campus and downtown (i.e. close enough for students to walk) — there’s just not enough money that can/will walk onto a property on the fringe. Let’s be realistic about the need to serve vehicular traffic and we’ll all be better off.

I expect all of these yet-to-be-developed “town centers” are nothing more than re-branded strip malls. I will be moving to c-ville next summer and the pedestrian aspect of the downtown mall is what draws me to the downtown area (Park St., etc).

The Reston Town Center is a wonderful creation primarily because it is friendly to pedestrians. It is accessible via the W&OD trail/path and is in an area with many crosswalks and pedestrian bridges. Even if you arrive by car, once you park (in one of the many covered garages) you can easily get to all of the stores and restaurants by foot.

A fair amount of research indicates that many of these communities sprung up around train stations and along streetcar lines. People walked to their homes from the station and did not mind living in the highly dense neighborhood because there really was not an option. The streetcar went where it went and how far you walked, and in which direction, were determined by your ability to pay and the market.

The invention of the automobile, and more importantly the price point being within reach of average citizens, made the suburbs possible. No longer were those who worked in the city bound to live in the city. Some chose to stay but the vast majority given the choice, citizens chose to move where they had more space.

The question now is how to make the new town centers more attractive and a better economic equation than suburban living for the majority of homebuyers?

If we are unable to answer this question, town centers will serve a small cohort of the market.

The basic concept of the Town Center and New Urbanism is actually a reinvention of an old concept. Where my grandmother lives in Mt. Olive North Carolina, they can walk to a grocery store, drug store, or just about anything else they need. There is also lots of community “green space”. This isn’t the result of some newfangled design or zoning, but merely the way communities used to be. THAT should be our model. If we want to use a more modern criteria, then here are the principles that one should find in a well designed town center (as one might find in Columbia Maryland):

1) Pedestrian Friendly. If this one isn’t true, then it simply isn’t a “Town Center” by any definition. It should also be accessible to bikes as well.

2) Mixed use and mixed income – The same person should be able to live, shop, work and entertain themselves all without ever getting in a car.

3) Community focal points. There should be community gathering spots like a lake, park, or whatever that draws the community together.

4) Greenspace. In addition to the focal points, there should be a network of greenspace connecting adjoining Town Centers. Ideally this would contain walking and cycling trails as seen in Columbia.

5) Parking on the perimeter. There should be no parking in the middle of the town centers. There should be parking garages on the edges where you can park and then walk into your destination. To put this another way, if you measure the total pavement, and there is more, or almost as much, pavement than greenspace, shops and homes then it simply isn’t a “Town Center”.

By the principles I’ve outlined above, I think it’s clear to see that local government has been pulling the wool over the communities eyes regarding the Neighborhood Model. I’ve yet to see a single development that gets even three out of five of the principles above.

A close examination of the Reston Town Center includes that it is — surrounded by high density apartments/condos and — parking lots. I would venture to say that 80% of the consumers in the Reston Town Center drive to the location and then walk. I wonder what the statistic is on the downtown mall. Someone has to be filling those parking garages.

Another example that is often used is Meadowmont in Chapel Hill North Carolinia. I visited Meadowmont a year ago this summer. I found it most interesting that the neighborhood pool, which is only open to residents, had no parking available in its parking lot and in fact had attendees parking on the tightly designed neighborhood streets. It seems the planners thought the parking lot capacity could be reduced because folks would walk. The opposite is the case.

I believe community pools tend to be used by younger families — those that have to haul diaper bags, water wings etc. This use is not condusive to walking even the two blocks to the pool.