Why charter schools could help the New Urbanism

The Charter of the New Urbanism states that “civic, institutional and commercial activity should be embedded in neighborhoods and districts, not isolated in remote, single-use complexes. Schools should be sized and located to enable children to walk or bicycle to them.” Building small schools in new urban neighborhoods is a more difficult proposition than it sounds. Like retail stores, post offices and other institutions, schools in the U.S. have been designed using strictly suburban models in recent decades; they generally are located in isolated pods accessible only by automobile. The days of schools integrated into walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods have long since gone, and new urbanist planners and developers face a huge challenge if they want to bring these civic institutions back. A report by new urbanists Michael Garber, John Anderson and Thomas DiGiovanni, Scale & Care: Charter Schools & New Urbanism, explains why schools are a critical part of the new urbanist movement. The authors argue that small-scale neighborhood schools, located in close proximity to homes, businesses and other institutions, are beneficial to children and the community as a whole. Designs and diagrams are presented to show how these schools could fit into a traditional neighborhood development (TND). According to the

...