Building

Prior to the crash, New Urban Builders specialized in nicely designed and constructed production housing in a traditional neighborhood development (TND) format. The firm was about to embark on a 1,500-unit new town — but now this 4-acre infill development called Park Forest in Chico, California, seems like a better increment. The project is adjacent to a nature center and Bidwell Park, one of the largest municipal parks in the US. The single new street meanders around existing live oaks. The project is about two miles from downtown in a part of town that was developed in the latter half of the 20th Century. It has a Walk Score of 48. But it does have potential for densification and mixed-use, which would make it more of a complete community. See the entire report in the current issue of Better! Cities & Towns.

There’s not much single-family New Urbanism these days. Where it is happening, it is often small infill projects like this one.

Some parts of the industry are very strong, and those include housing in cities with a highly educated workforce — the “creative class,” so-named by Richard Florida.

There’s a flip side to the “creative class” trend — for every city at the top of the list there’s one at the bottom of the list for this demographic.