St. Louis Loves New Urbanism

A St. Louis, Missouri, newspaper (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) reports on the growing popularity of new urbanism communities in the St. Louis region. One couple profiled said they decided to move to a new urban community so that they could have “more than a home.” They wanted a place where they didn’t have to drive everywhere and could walk safely around their neighborhood. The experience is a new and pleasant one for many new residents making a similar move in that region:

“A few weeks ago, Lee Ann Borcherding sat on her front porch with her daughter Lisa, 20, in New Town, where hundreds of homes rise out farmland and are connected by canals.

There’s a small market, a frozen custard shop, real estate offices and restaurants. People kayak, bike, skate and drive golf carts around the neighborhood.

“On the weekends you can’t sit out here without seeing 20 bikes go by,” Lisa Borcherding said.

Often sightseers show up just to look at the place. There are concerts at a local amphitheater, and people gather at the town hall to watch movies and drink martinis. “We are like in a zoo,” Lee Ann Borcherding said, adding that it’s a little difficult to get in and out of the area.

Richard Ward, a local real estate consultant, said New Town is probably the best example of new urbanist development built from scratch.”

Read the whole story here.