New Urbanism as Exemplified by Connecticut’s Urban Communities
The concept and principles of New Urbanism has gained momentum in Connecticut as many Connecticutters find urban living the most comfortable way of life. Albeit a small state with mostly rural areas, Connecticut is one of the best examples of New Urbanism, as the state now belongs to the ranks of the most urban regions in America.
To better illustrate urban living in Connecticut, it would be best to describe the concepts and principle of New Urbanism.
The New Urbanism Movement
New Urbanism is a movement that was introduced to change the way towns and municipalities have been constructed during the past centuries. This includes encouraging environmental friendly practices by having affordable housing amidst an urban sprawl that offers shopping accessibility, open public spaces and walkable neighborhoods. It is all about creating livable places where the residents can enjoy healthy and untroubled lives.
The principle on which the Charter on New Urbanism is founded, is for real estate development and building construction to largely focus on things that matter to the everyday of lives of citizens. It is important for New Urbanist planners to establish complete communities that include shops, worksites, houses, educational, parks, civic facilities and entertainment, all within walking distance. Rather than build additional roads and highways, New Urbanism encourages the use of light rail and trains for transportation in which stations can be accessed inside related structures.
In New Urbanism, everything is related; from a single urban location in a rural area to the structures built in the state’s capital. The concept works on the New Urbanism principle that a region can perform better when buildings are linked to a transit station, as fewer foot and vehicle traffic will enable people in the region to move in an organized manner and perform better.
The planning and development principles of this movement are designed to utilize and revitalize unused spaces but within the principles of conservation and sustainability. The streets are made for the residents instead of cars, whilst allowing bicycles to become part of street traffic.
A Quick Take on the Architectural Designs of New Urbanist Homes
One of the main attractions of New Urbanist homes are its aesthetic qualities and environment friendly traits. As a way to bridge the gap between modern home designs and traditional concepts, the Vinyl Siding Institute published a book called “Architectural Design for Traditional Neighborhoods.”
The book gave home builders and architects practical and low-cost ideas on what to construct in order to combine traditional concepts with the standards of New Urbanism. The contents include simple concepts and attentiveness to materials in order to eliminate the difference between traditional housings on large high-density areas and highly developed urban neighborhoods.
In order to serve the book’s purpose, a chapter shows how adorning a home with vinyl sidings and trimmings using vinyl fluted columns, casings, crowns brackets and pediments, can eliminate the need to hire a master woodworker just to add traditional aesthetic qualities to a modern urban home. The book played an important role in the rapid adoption of New Urbanism, as many new urbanist consumers began demanding such adornments for their home.
In Connecticut, urbanist developers, planning firms and architectures have since developed experience in using vinyl siding ct consumers desire for their home.