It used to be said that what’s good for General Motors is good for the country. Sprawl and Interstate highways were very good for GM, and we built them with manic determination in the last six decades. There has always been a contingent that has argued that automobile-dependent development patterns are not in our collective best interest, but those voices have been ignored by many. In the last year, however, dramatically more awareness has focused on the terrible twins of global warming and fossil-fuel dependency. One of the best ways to deal with these issues, many are realizing, is to offer the choice of not driving. The idea is dawning that what’s good for the nation is good for urbanism, and vice versa. New Urbanism is merging with sustainability.
The upside to this is that new urbanists will be getting stronger support from environmentalists, a powerful group that is growing more influential. The downside is that sustainability also carries baggage. Most people are still unwilling to make significant sacrifices to “go green.”
When making an environmental pitch, we tend to rely too heavily on guilt. That may be fine when asking people to separate out bottles and cans, but urbanism requires a new lifestyle. For most people, an ethical argument will not suffice. Fortunately, there are many ways to make an environmental appeal, and new urbanists would do well to become more adept at presenting the alternatives. Andres Duany brilliantly demonstrates how most people will respond to environmental arguments if they are pitched to the right audience (see "Who will opt for a green community?" in this issue).
Ethical arguments appeal to leaders of environmental organizations, hard-core environmentalists, many academics, and quite a few policy wonks. For that influential group, it’s important to make the case that urbanism is the right thing to do.
HIP AND GREEN
For consumers, however, a subtler pitch is in order. Ironically, New Urbanism is ahead of the game because it has not been sold primarily on environmental grounds. Duany identifies a critical consumer group that he calls “trendsetters,” who will eagerly buy green if doing so is perceived as hip and trendy. New Urbanism is well poised to appeal to that segment. The idea that life is better when you can walk to cool restaurants, shops, venues, and transit, and that by living in such a place you are saving the Earth — it doesn’t get much better than that, does it? That concept has special appeal to the young.
Perhaps an even more influential group is the “opportunists.” These pragmatists are finally convinced that global warming must be dealt with and are looking for the opportunities that such a monumental shift will offer. Opportunists will be interested in learning how strongly demographic trends favor urbanism in the next quarter-century. If New Urbanism satisfies market demand while at the same time helping to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals, that’s known as a “win-win,” a scenario that opportunists love. Developers, bankers, politicians, and similarly influential people fall largely into this category.
Then there are the “survivalists” who are preparing for the day — they believe it’s soon — when it all hits the fan. New Urbanism has a lot to offer them, too. If you believe that oil will be scarce, you may want to live in a place with transportation choices. One way to address the pessimists without turning off the trendsetters and opportunists is to point out that reduced automobile dependence is like an insurance policy against oil shocks.
In almost no time, it seems, New Urbanism has gone from a design movement recognized primarily for good placemaking, to one that is perceived as beneficial to the environment. More work needs to be done to get the word out, and new urbanists themselves are helping by more explicitly focusing on green building principles. Yet the trend is clear. Land use programs will be judged by their greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on fossil fuels, and the links between New Urbanism and sustainability can only grow stronger.
This article is available in the January/February 2008 issue of New Urban News, along with many more articles not available online. Subscribe or order the individual issue. |