New Urbanism | New Urban Mom

Archive for New Urbanism – Page 4

Eco-Friendly Tips for Your Household

Are you using reusable bags at the grocery store? Have you changed the bulbs in your home to energy efficient ones? Many of you are probably nodding in agreement and still others are “on their way there.” In many cases where we’re not as energy efficient as we’d like it has nothing to do with

Job Security, New Urbanism and Competing Communities

If we’ve learned anything from this global economic collapse it’s that the traditional indicators of security that we’ve grown accustomed to in many families-job for life, endless supply of cheap fuel, iron clad home equity values–are fleeting notions, at best. But is that a bad thing? If you have to move due to a new

Obama Pushes Better Parenting, Education for America’s Future

I’ve just finished listening to President Barack Obama’s address at the NAACP’s 100th anniversary convention in New York. The address was delivered on July 16 and once again I have to thank YouTube for helping so many more of us to get the message from folks who really have something to say. President Obama’s message,

Backyard Garden Could Turn you Into An Eco-Farmer

There’s a new wave of farming out there called SPIN–small plot intensive farming–and according to major newspapers it is growing in cities across North America. New urbanism has generated a lot of attention around the notions of “buying local” and working locally in order to cut harmful emissions caused by transportation vehicles. Was it then

The Community Garden Concept

Our neighborhood has homes situated on lots that are perfectly suitable for decent gardens. That’s why I was surprised at the popularity of the community garden. I actually can’t confidently say I knew there was one. But yesterday my son spent his second visit there with a dear friend of our family who kindly invited

Supporting New Urbanism and the Question of Moving

So let’s say you live in one of those cul-de-sacs that are such a no-no in the new urbanism movement. Does that mean you have to consider moving to practice what you preach as a new urbanism convert? Of course not. While a McMansion on a cul-de-sac doesn’t appeal to me anyhow, personally I would

Even on Vacation Communities Make the Difference

I love vacations. Our family, like so many others, has many funny, wonderful memories of vacations that begin with checking into the hotel in a new city or country and end with checking out of the hotel, carrying a suitcase full of souvenirs and dirty laundry! Our recent vacation was a little different. We landed

3-Minute Video about New Urbanism

New urbanism is one of those concepts that can be difficult to grasp. It’s a term that’s not part of our daily conversation, yet its meaning is very much a part of what most people engage in every day. If you go to work or are looking for work that you can afford to get

Morning Walk to the Farmers’ Market

This morning I arose to all sorts of work to do for clients. Speech to write, newsletter to edit and a few reports to complete. As I had just returned from a 1 1/2 day Seminar that was great but included lots of eating and sitting, I felt I was overdue for a good walk.

50-year Experiment with Sprawl is Ending

Well I’m excited. Co-founder of the Congress of New Urbanism, Peter Calthorpe, has been hired by my town to design something he described to the Toronto Star (May 25, 2009) as being “the highest manifestation of transit-oriented development” that he has been involved in. Wow. “We’ve had a 50-year experiment with sprawl. Now it’s over.