It all seemed so simple then.
Planners had all the answers for what would save American cities. Transit and intelligent growth control would curb the sprawl that was ruining the American landscape, mixed use developments and a variety of housing choices would not only revitalize derelict neighborhoods but foster a sense community of amongst residents that would enrich the economy and quality of life of all citizens.
When the Smart Growth movement gained steam in the 1990's and early 2000's, it seemed that the days of social equity planning were over and the nation was about to experience a rebirth of physical planning. Once the vision was realized, the results would be nothing less than stupefying.
Fast forward to 2011. The national mood has soured as the economy has cooled and 9/11 fostered fear and hostility amongst its citizens. Smart Growth is still around, but in a more modest form, and has little pull politically. Assertions made in support of planning carry less weight politically now than they might have 10-20 years ago.
In Neighbors and Neighborhoods, Sidney Brower, a professor of Urban Planning at the University of Maryland, takes a step back and attempts to examine just exactly how effective planners, designers, and developers can be in creating communities, in both their geographic and social sense. Can planners and designers successfully create vibrant communities as they claim, or is that primarily determined by other factors (residents, economics, etc.) as social scientists usually claim?
Brower's approach is to lay out set of components that make up a community, from its history and appearance to its management, and for each component analyze a set of communities that exhibit differing characteristics. He then proposes a variety of characteristics that exhibited by what he calls community-generating neighborhoods, e.g. physical places that foster community interaction amongst its residents. He also lays out a typology of four types of communities which may be useful in thinking about the degree to which residents of a given community may or may not want to interact, and a set of general qualities of good community design.
While the book may not be comprehensive in that it doesn't cover every conceivable type of community, and the guidelines may seem like rehashes of general principles you may have heard before, it is nonetheless a worthwhile read. What it may lack in originality it makes up for in depth and clarity of thought, and it does subtly challenge some notions that many in the pro-planning movement may take for granted.
One telling example is when the author describes an interaction with some of his graduate students at the University of Maryland. While they typically "arrive convinced that a strong residential community is a good thing - it requires no justification," upon closer analysis they begin to realize that these communities can often place social, political, and economic burdens on individuals and families that not everyone wishes to undertake. As a result, his students are forced to think more deeply about the balance between community and privacy.
Neighbors and Neighborhoods can be a good read as an introduction for those new to the topic, as a refresher course for more seasoned individuals, or as a reminder to balance a sense of pragmatism and realism with zeal for those involved in creating or enhancing communities.
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