Bisno Development’s philosophy is that building new urban communities, scaled to the pedestrian, not the automobile, should be the template for the cities of the new millennium. The terms “livable communities,” “New Urbanism,” “sustainable development,” “walkable communities,” and “smart growth” all have been used to describe this concept.

Ironically, while these patterns of development have been shown to enhance quality of life, reduce traffic, encourage a sense of community and involvement in civic life, reduce urban sprawl, improve air quality and increase city revenues, some environmental and slow-growth advocates still oppose these projects. And many existing municipal codes and practices continue to discourage this type of development.

These political positions and governmental policies seems to be based on the obsolete axiom that any density is bad, while over looking the fact that mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods, friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists, with public spaces and human-scale, appealing streetscapes require density to be successful.

This blog is intended to be a source of information on trends in New Urbanism and Smart Growth.

Christopher Hawthorne’s July 6, 2008 story in LA Times Magazine says that the dream of homeownership, once so easy to attain in LA, is now out of reach for most Los Angeles renters, young people leaving home and new arrivals. These have-nots “will push for the emergence of a much different city: one where density and growth are givens, where transit and walkability and the creation of open space are a priority. Because they live mostly in apartments and condos, they don’t have access to the spacious private realms that the haves do. They will demand that the city pay more attention to shared spaces. They will push for new parks and attractive sidewalks in ways their predecessors never needed to; at the same time, they won’t be nearly as concerned as the haves if single-family neighborhoods are rezoned for higher density.” Read more…

A recent editorial in the Salt Lake City Tribune makes the point that increasing energy costs will have profound effects on the way we live: “… Condos and high-rises will become the new ‘McMansions.’ Train tracks and sidewalks the new highways. Buses and bicycles the new SUVs. Many of us will abandon our big gas-guzzling vehicles and forsake new land-guzzling, auto-dependent suburban developments in favor of commuter hubs and “new urbanism” communities clustered near mass-transit stations. In the face of such change, “it’s up to government to make it happen sooner, not later,” the editorial says.

Demand for pedestrian-friendly community planning, often called New Urbanism, is being driven by young and old homebuyers alike, according to the Wall Street Journal. “Baby boomers and millennials are the country’s two biggest generations, with some 82 million and 78 million people born during their respective eras,” the Journal reported on June 17, 2008. “Both flocks are leaving their nests and finding that higher-density urban housing fits their lifestyles.” The Journal notes that: “While high gas prices are a boon to New Urbanism and other ’smart-growth’ planning concepts, in practice such mixed-use projects often are harder to execute — from acquiring local approval to securing Wall Street financing — than the traditional suburban tract-housing model. The challenges for cities are considerable, from investing in public-transportation systems to creating incentives for developers to accommodate the new urban housing demand.” Read more…

A growing movement, New Urbanism recognizes walkable, human-scaled neighborhoods as the building blocks of sustainable communities and regions. The Charter of the New Urbanism articulates the movement’s principles and defines the essential qualities of urban places from the scale of the region to the individual building.
Learn More…

Bisno’s proposed Ponte Vista project in San Pedro will dedicate 40% of the community to open space and public parks.

Spaces will be designed with walking trails, pedestrian paseos and gardens, provide more than 13 acres to open public use, including a village green. designed for relaxation and special events. A Ponte Vista Waterscape Concourse will run through the residential areas of the Ponte Vista community and lead to a large reflection pool near the Village Green for public enjoyment. The feature will be a key element of the design of Ponte Vista to create visual interest along pedestrian pathways with waterfalls, bridges and passive seating areas for relaxation. http://www.pontevista.com/environment/openSpace.php

The concept of Livable Communities is set out by the Local Government Commission, a non-profit coalition of city planners and local governments. LGC’s “Ahwahnee Principles” for Economic Development includes the following:

Livable Communities: To protect the natural environment and increase quality of life, neighborhoods, communities and regions should have compact, multidimensional land use patterns that ensure a mix of uses, minimize the impact of cars, and promote walking, bicycling, and transit access to employment, education, recreation, entertainment, shopping, and services. Economic development and transportation investments should reinforce these land use patterns, and the ability to move people and goods by non-automobile alternatives wherever possible.

Center Focus: Communities should have an appropriately scaled and economically healthy center focus. At the community level, a wide range of commercial, residential, cultural, civic, and recreational uses should be located in the town center or downtown. At the neighborhood level, neighborhood centers should contain local businesses that serve the daily needs of nearby residents. At the regional level, regional facilities should be located in urban centers that are accessible by transit throughout the metropolitan area.
http://www.lgc.org/economic/index.html

One of the primary objectives of Ponte Vista is to provide a range of homeownership opportunities available to the widest range of buyers with special purchasing programs designed for teachers, police officers, fire fighters and working families so they can afford to live in the community they serve. http://www.pontevista.com/vision/housing_needs.php

The Local Government Commission’s Center for Livable Communities describes  the impetus behind urban designs for livable neighborhoods: “The smart growth and livable communities movements have proposed using elements including density, mix of land uses, pedestrian- and transit-oriented design and a central focus to reform the destructive development patterns that have resulted from postwar trends.

In the fragmented, post modern landscape that has taken the place of urban America, we can see thriving efforts to rebuild the heart of older cities, and to create vibrant city centers in newer cities. Meanwhile, in existing suburban enclaves across the country there are efforts to build walkable, neighborhood commercial centers that will provide a heart for the community and a locus for neighborhood services such as schools, stores, restaurants and transit hubs.” http://www.lgc.org/community_design/centers.html

Bisno Development’s City Place project was designed to reduce the use of the automobile with mixed uses that puts many of life’s daily destinations without walking distance. The project revitalized an aging part of central Santa Ana, creating a human-scale, walkable community. Residents are looking for shopping and dining need only walk out their doors. http://www.livecityplace.com/

Smart Growth is more than a concept. It’s a movement. Smart Growth Online offers the following profile of this new thinking about urban growth. “In communities across the nation, there is a growing concern that current development patterns — dominated by what some call “sprawl” — are no longer in the long-term interest of our cities, existing suburbs, small towns, rural communities, or wilderness areas. Though supportive of growth, communities are questioning the economic costs of abandoning infrastructure in the city, only to rebuild it further out.” Read more … http://www.smartgrowth.org/about/default.asp