New Urbanism and Web 2.0

Welcome back!

It occurred to me today that the reasons why more and more people are choosing new urbanism as the kind of community they want to live in is for much the same reasons why so many people are attracted to social media and web 2.0 technology.

We are social beings. We try our best to build barriers between one another but before long we eventually break them down.

In the 1950′s we built suburbs 30 miles from where we worked on the belief that our happiness was linked to driving big cars, mall shopping and lawn care.  The “people” factor was secondary.

Today we recognize how much richer, “greener” and satisfying our communities can be without long commutes. We’re rediscovering the joy of shopping locally for food and supplies.  Working and socializing in our community is not something to fear but something that can really enhance our lives – socially and financially.

Finding ways to attract more employers to our communities is now becoming a full-time community effort as we recognize that the sustainability of our communities depends on the social and commercial mix of our neighborhoods.

Community building is at the heart of new urbanism which is why I couldn’t wait to get a copy of a new publication called Instructions from the Cook: Recipes for New Conversations.  This book by George Nemeth and Jack Ricchiuto (two individuals you can follow on Twitter) looks at how “conversations” between people can build community and eliminate the misunderstandings that can cause fragmentation.

If you haven’t joined Twitter you should. Twitter is one of those web 2.0 technologies enabling conversations between people and nurturing a great mix of commercial and social chat. It’s the “virtual water cooler” for many who work at home and others as well.  The popularity of Twitter and a number of discussion forums on the web is rooted in the fact that real, breathing people want to share their thoughts, ideas, humor and fear with other real people everyday.

We congratulate each other on the birth of children and share condolences at the loss of a loved ones.  Thousands (if not millions) of people connect in this way regularly, almost without fail.  This is, IMO, a truly awesome concept and development in our modern lives.

We’ve found a way to make “cold, unfeeling techonlogy” very touchy feely much like we’ve done with our communities.  From the ‘burbs to new ‘urbs we’re rediscovering the gift and impact of conversation outside of our protected circles and the appreciation of being in community with each other.

Book Review: Leisureville

**UPDATE**: You can listen the podcast featuring the author here.

There are some books, like George Orwell’s 1984, that give you a bizarre peek at an imaginary future while at the same time sending shudders down your spine as you realize that the eerie future described is actually here.

Andrew Blechman’s book Leisureville is a must read for anyone interested in more than a peek at what our future may hold if we continue to nurture some popular perceptions around youth, aging and the way we live in community with one another.

Leisureville is a deceptively leisurely trip through some of America’s largest and fastest selling new urban or master planned communities built specifically for the 50+ resident.

Who hasn’t grumbled even a little bit as a teenager blurts out the F___ word at a theater. Or what about that 14 year old boy in front of you at the mall whose pants are practically at his ankles? Sure we grumble but once your own kids are grown would you want to live in one of those adult only communities where kids are actually banned from living there? Would you really want to live hundreds of miles away from your son(s) or daughter(s), grandchildren and friends you’ve spent most of your life with just so that you could have a few “amenities” and avoid seeing other people’s kids?

I actually thought Blechman was taking us through a fictional community when he described lamp posts that piped out music from the 1950′s and community rules that forbid residents from having children in their homes for more than 30 days during the year. It’s like reading a chapter out of the Stepford Wives (well the Stepford Wives’ parents).

The shocker is that Blechman’s story is true. These are real communities. Blechman actually spends a number of weeks in what he terms “retirement utopias” in Florida and Phoenix. He estimates that there are as many as 1500 of these retirement communities in the U.S. with some under construction, others in the planning stages and many already housing tens of thousands of residents–some as young as 40+.

If you’re curious to see what these communities look like visit this website. Imagine the great “U.S. melting- pot society” looking to a dark corner of its past to embrace a new type of segregation–one now based on age. The worse scenario for me? Imagine our kids not benefiting from the wise insights and life experiences that our older relatives/friends have to offer. I know for me personally, living 10-minutes from my parents has been about the single most positive influence on the development of my children.

Is this retirement utopia a distortion of the new urbanism dream? Remember NU is a movement designed to make our communities more people friendly, safer and sustainable by creating communities for people of different income and age brackets. It is that diversity that has served to build strong, creative and sustainable communities across the country. These retirement communities seem to be the antithesis of new urbanism.

In Leisureville, Blechman throws a spotlight on the kinds of myopic perspectives some people adopt after spending too much time in their own, segregated community. What I found most upsetting was the response some seniors seemed to share around the notion of shouldering responsibility for the funding of our public schools.

Apparently many senior communities have actually voted down referendum after referendum calling for increased taxes to help out needy local schools. The arguments of the adults in these strong voting blocks is that their kids are out of school, they themselves are on limited incomes and they’d sooner have the families with kids currently in schools assume the burden of funding.

Where would we be today if our forefathers (and mothers) had thought that way? As Blechman poignantly points out our society has enjoyed an unwritten social contract where one generation buys into paying for the services that will ultimately be enjoyed by the generations to come. That contract has allowed residents in this country to enjoy a sense of security and lifestyle rarely seen elsewhere in this world.

From Leisureville:

What will happen when there are thousands of these segregated communities across America, housing millions of aging secessionists? What happens to the rest of us–those left behind who don’t qualify in terms of age or finances? For that matter, what happens to American society in general, and our municipalities in particular, when a critical mass of mature Americans form self-contained private cities and disengage from the general population? Experience shows that these privately owned quasi-governmental entities often resent paying local taxes for schools as well as for municipal services that they prefer to perform themselves. And they are potent voting blocs that can swing elections addressing these issues.”

Perhaps the generation leading this movement to retirement utopia – the 78 million members of the Baby Boomer Generation – need to reassess the impact of the kinds of decisions many are making about community life.

Perhaps we also need to think about our approaches to community life. If our seniors don’t feel welcome they’ll leave, and we will miss their guidance, experience and patience. Those who need their guidance and patience most – our toddlers, our teens and especially the parents raising them – really can’t afford to have that kind of absence of leadership and support in the community.

Blechman reminds the rest of us who truly enjoy our communities and the quirks and joys of living with people of different ages, backgrounds and cultures to acknowledge what we have and to take steps to ensure that our communities are accessible, nurturing and safe for residents of ALL ages and with different needs. That’s an outcome that takes participation and engagement. Are you up for it?

New Urbanism Developments Clashing with the Real Thing?

New urbanism is a nod to the past and an acknowledgment that we love to live in neighborhoods where we can stroll to the corner store, socialize with friends and family close to home, utilize public amenities and services that help us to live in an eco-friendly ways, and work in an office down the street or in our homes.

That’s the new urbanism dream in a very simple nutshell. Best of all it’s not just a dream anymore – we’re reshaping old cities and building new communities across the country that meet these goals.

There are, however, still many people who fear new urbanism because it’s not perfect. They worry that some of the new urbanism communities being developed are too “fake” looking. They worry that because many newly built “new urbanism” communities also attract big retailers that these communities will compete with the real thing (e.g., historic towns, urban city cores).

I don’t get it. Why the worry?

New urbanism isn’t just about the buildings, it is about a mindset. We should be happy that we have a growing segment of the population that simply wants people friendly communities. We should be overjoyed that developers and city planners are thinking of ways to make old and new communities equally eco-friendly. It’s hard to live a green lifestyle without some solid help and leadership from our community leaders and service organizations (like recycling services, etc.).

The new urbanism movement is making all of this possible.

One of my favorite OLD new urbanism cities is Montreal…take a look at this article heralding a recent new urbanism seminar there but also raising some of the same old concerns we always hear about…click here to read.

Getting Ready to Send a Teen to College

This blog is a resource and I hope an inspiration for making our communities places that encourage positive and healthy growth for ourselves, our families and our businesses. Is it any wonder then that I feel so conflicted about the rite of passage that so many of us go through when it comes time to send our kids off to college?

Just when I’m feeling that my family is thriving in our “new urbanism” community, I’m helping one of us to LEAVE!

Most minutes of the day I’m fine, even excited about the thought that my daughter will be moving away to college in a few weeks.

Then there are those other moments when I wonder about all the things mosts parents worry about. Will she be able to get home from class safely? Will she comfortable with her roommate? Will she eat a balanced dinner each day? Okay that last question is probably Karma coming back to bite me as I promised my mom I would eat well when I was in college and existed on tea and Rice Krispies for about half my diet!

Everytime I think through the scary scenarios and get to the point where I’m questioning why we’re sending her away when there are perfectly good schools close by, I answer myself pretty quickly – because we want her to grow (and we want her to attend a REALLY good school).

When I was 18 I couldn’t wait to move into my university residence! Just the thought of being on my own and making my own decisions about my day to day life gave me an unbelievable high – without drugs!

I’m sensing my daughter is just as excited (though more low key than I was – thank goodness) – so I know we’re doing the right thing.

Often when I find the need to look for validation about some instinctive decision I have to make about parenting I think back to the Mutual of Omaha, well not literally that company but the show they use to sponsor on television when I was 5 or 6 years old. It was called “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.”

Anyone reading this old enough to remember that program?

Anyhow, there were an awful lot of real life “human” lessons in those shows especially the “parenting episodes.” You know the programs that focus on say a mama bear preparing her offspring for life in the wild “without mama.”

I’d almost want to cry watching as a cub was being pushed/nudged/encouraged to start finding his own food and securing a separate place to call home…on his own. It was hard but as the handy commentator would tell us, it was for his/her own good and survival.

Like most things, practice makes perfect and perhaps the college environment is as good as we’re going to get for a “practice environment” that will help our kids young adults to become healthy, positive and contributing members of their communities.

NOTE: I have to plug Antioch College – not the school we chose for our daughter, but a school we thought about for many years. I’m hoping all goes well for changes happening at this phenomenal institution. The picture in this post features my daughter during a visit to Antioch, which is located in beautiful Yellow Springs, Ohio. I’d retire there

Neighborly Chat – Try It

Are you one of those people who run hurriedly into the house/car/garage the minute you glance your neighbor next door?

It’s okay to admit your neighbor phobia because of course you’re not alone. But really do you think it would be that bad if you were to stop and talk for a minute?

I’m not being Mr. Rogers or anything but I happen to be married to a man who was not naturally the neighborly type. Before meeting me I think he believed neighbors were not of this world (or at least his).

Maybe he thought his hair might ignite if he spent 30 seconds talking to some of the people who live closest to us. Whatever it was, I got him out of it about 10 years ago and while he is no chatty Cathy he never ceases to amaze me with his knowledge of who moved in where and who’s getting work done on their house, etc.

The other morning he and I were sipping our coffee on the front porch when all of a sudden I heard “Hi C!”

I asked hubby who that was and he informed me that the voice was coming from our newest neighbor and it didn’t stop there. Hubby was able to tell me all sorts of interesting facts about our new neighbor’s love life and renovation plans (he’s engaged).

Even if you live on acres of land in a rural area, it’s still nice to have a neighbor in your vicinity to share a warm drink in the winter, or to call upon when you need a hand with something. City life and suburban life are truly better if you’re among acquaintances, instead of strangers. Don’t you agree?

New Urban Mom: Show#11

This week we meet with Los Angeles single mom and entrepreneur Nancy Goodman Iland. Nancy is a born and bred Valley girl who in recent years chose to move to more urban L.A. where today she raises her son and earns her living as a food stylist in the film and TV industry, program producer and internet marketer! Nancy shares with us her take on why urban living is great for raising her son, building her business and meeting her own social and cultural interests.

References:

www.goldstarevents.com

www.creativescreenings.com

Moms Talk Radio “Sister” Spotlights:

Parenting My Teen

The Cravings Coach

Top 10 New Urbanism Communities – Submit Now

If you’re a builder, developer, marketer, resident or other interested person or group representing a new urbanism community in the United States or Canada, and you’d like your community to be considered for inclusion in the annual New Urban Mom Top 10 New Urbanism Communities list, please provide the following information by July 22, 2008:

• Name of Community
• Website information
• Location (city and state/province)
• Price range of homes available for purchase
• Description of Housing styles available
• Information on rental properties available in your community
• Information on commercial development and services available in your community
• Indicate any building industry, municipal, design or other awards received by your community
• Contact information for buyers and renters (if applicable)

All information and questions can be sent to:

newurbanite@gmail.com

Once we receive all entries we’ll review and narrow down the the list to 10 communities.

We’re looking to build once a gain a list that offers the leading eco-friendly communities in America that are built on new urbanism principles.

This annual list is the resource for families and individuals looking to live in sustainable communities that can help to support their efforts to live a green lifestyle, do business close to home and be around individuals who share these values.

New Urban Mom Podcast Show 10 – A Visionary Builder

Eat local, protect our green spaces, stop urban sprawl, rebuild our cities, drive less, work closer to home (or at home) – are all buzz words today that are making front page headlines in most major news papers across America. Listen in to today’s show as we talk to one of the leaders in the new urbanism development movement, David Pace of New Broadstreet Companies.

David Pace, was Director of Real Estate Development for Walt Disney when the much talked about early new urbanism community, Celebration was developed in the late 1990′s. He later joined Pritzker Realty Group to lead the redevelopment of the 1,100 acre Orlando Naval Training Center into Baldwin Park, a $3 billion project comprised of houses and apartments for 4,300 residents and 1 million square feet of commercial space. Today David is president of New Broad Street Companies.

David represents the expertise that goes into re-shaping inner city neighborhoods and suburban/rural areas into welcoming and rejuvenated communities that bring residents together for social and business benefits. These “sustainable” communities are also designed to make it easier for residents to not only work and carry out their businesses close to home, but to lead their personal and family lives in ways that are healthier for them and the environment.

Website references:

www.newbroadstreet.com

Listen to the MP3  – click here

Let’s Do Lunch

I love the Internet and the way it has helped us to quickly access information, manage and launch small businesses and meet friends and business colleagues from around the world.

The one minor draw back is that some of us miss that face-to-face connection – that “personal” element.

Really all it takes is one person to start the ball rolling. In this case Small Business Branding’s Vera Raposo (3rd from right in the picture above) told a few of us from the Mom Masterminds business network that she was traveling from her west coast location to Toronto – a location that was pretty accessible for some members like me.

We met in one of my favorite new urbanism towns (Unionville) and spent almost 4 hours catching up!

The best part is not only were we able to do some business (I may have found a new branding consultant!) but we were also able to get to know each other a bit better as colleagues and friends.

If you’ve got a small business you’ll want to ensure you visit Vera Raposo’s Small Business Branding website. If you need graphic design and branding work done by an expert that understands not only big business projects but the small business and online marketplace as well, you’ll want to visit Ed Roach’s The Branding Experts website – in case you have difficulty identifying “Ed” he’s the one at the far left in the picture above .

If you’re a busy mom looking for financial management, stress relief ideas and solid life and business coaching support you must visit Sarah Zeldman’s Solutions for Busy Mom’s website (Sarah’s the one on the far right in the picture above). If you are a home based business owner or anyone looking for quality products and services that you can locate from one convenient location, you should visit Imelda Belanger’s I Shop At Home site where her motto is: “Shop from your Seat not from Your Feet” (I love that tag line – no wonder she’s the one with the stylish bag in the picture above – she shops well!). Finally, every business owner or busy enterprise needs an efficient administrator to manage operations – if you need a seasoned virtual assistant who is also an expert internet marketing manager, you’ll want to contact Angela Wills of StarVa (in the picture above, Angela is 2nd from the right) .

I’m just so pumped from my meeting with these fantastic business owners. Thanks to the Internet for bringing us together virtually and for the spirit we’re all blessed with that never lets us forget the joy to be experienced from being in real community and close proximity to one another!

Squirrel Man’s Wife

My husband is following me on my journey to being green in our new urbanism community, but he is no treehugger…yet. That’s why I was excited (at least initially) with his developing interest in our “wild life.”

I don’t know if it has to do with hitting the big “40″ (a little while ago) but in recent years he’s taken a real liking to squirrels. I love animals but squirrels aren’t up on my list of wildlife I’d like to get closer to.

Case in point: Today he picked me up from my 2-day meeting in the city and surprised me with a decision to stop at our local market for some fresh items for lunch. I stayed in the car as I was exhausted. Then as I waited I hoped he would think to pick up some other grocery items that I know we were running low on at home.

That was wishful thinking. Unless we are specifically shopping for household groceries my husband can’t run into a store for one item and then change gears and pick up other things that might strike him as items that need to be replenished in our home – like toilet paper, milk, orange juice, cereal and fruit.

He’s a one track guy (personally I think this is a male gene thing – any guys reading this blog are free to argue with me in the comments below).

Anyhow, the point of this post is that not only did my husband not come out of the market with some useful household items instead of just some items for our Saturday lunch, but he bought an item that was for the consumption of someone other than his family or dog. He bought peanuts for his new found, wildlife friends – our backyard rodents squirrels.

They actually anticipate his return to the house. Just as we came up to the house two ran across the driveway. I thought I heard one squirrel say to the other:

“Big guy’s home Morton – go get the kids it’s lunch time.”

Now as I write this post, my husband is in the backyard on the bench under our maple tree with a glass of Chardonnay, and a bag of peanuts by his side.

He’s going to be one of those odd old men that the kids nickname “squirrel man.” YIKES – that makes me squirrel man’s wife.

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