"The Building of Cities Is One of Man's Greatest Achievements"

Growing up within the confines of our suburban cul-de-sac - perched imperially at the top of a hill, no less - we can say with little hesitation that in the master-planned communities dotting the outskirts of every major city, it's terribly difficult to have any meaningful collective social development. Now, planning committes in Austin are determined to do away with what in the last few decades has become the de-facto community-buildling scheme, and "create better subdivisions with shorter blocks and smaller, well-linked streets." And, while most of us actually consider "suburbia" and "evil" to be somewhat synonymous, the Statesman's Sarah Coppola reports that this is probably in large part because of the way they're put together:

To hear land planners tell it, the modern subdivision is a demon of sorts, an evil force sucking the health, joy and friendliness right out of suburbia.

Subdivision cul-de-sacs, the theory goes, isolate neighbors and are tough for ambulances and garbage trucks to navigate. Dead ends and security gates enhance loneliness and clog nearby roads with traffic. And long, curvy streets force residents to drive cars instead of walk.

The alternative, the so-called "New Urbanism," is a return to the neighborhoods of yore: when people actually walked places, engaged in idle chit-chat, and generally fostered a genuine sense of community interaction. Rose-hued ruminations notwithstanding, NewUrbanism.com describes the concept as such: