Legalizing New Urbanism

For decades, rigid zoning codes that segregate housing, offices, stores, and civic buildings have blocked the creation of the traditional neighborhoods that are an essential element of the New Urbanism. Traditional neighborhood development has been effectively outlawed by minimum lot size requirements in residential areas, zoning restrictions banning apartments over shops, and parking requirements for businesses that turn downtowns into parking lots. In recent years, leaders in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Connecticut — often with the support and guidance of CNU members — have changed the status quo, passing legislation that explicitly allows traditional neighborhood development. Required Comprehensive Planning In 1999, former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson signed TND into law as part of the state’s budget bill. The law has two components: one requires comprehensive planning throughout the state by 2010; the other gave every city or village with a population of 12,500 or more three years to enact a traditional neighborhood development ordinance similar to a model ordinance developed by UW-Madison professors of urban and regional planning. That ordinance defines TND as compact, mixed-use development that accommodates several modes of transportation, including walking, biking, and driving. It includes diagrams and sketches to illustrate design standards for street width and building

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