I thought some clarification was needed about this site.  It’s called “New Urban Mom” because that’s the perspective I share.  I live in a “new urban” community (one that subscribes to new urbanism principles) and I happen to be a mom.

But this is not a site just for moms, it’s for everyone and anyone who is interested in new urbanism.

That said, I do want to ensure that I reach women and here’s why.  For too long the new urbanism mantra, campaign, movement, whatever you want to call it, has been couched in language that few understand except planners, graduate students or super engaged environmental or education advocates.

“Mixed use”, “high density” communities is not the kind of language we use in our everyday conversations but it is the language that has been used for 20 years to describe new urbanism neighborhoods.  Not very enticing.

Yet the new urbanism lifestyle is beautiful, green and extremely livable! These are the messages we want to share with the people who will be making the decisions to make new urban communities viable.

Women or moms make the “majority” of decisions in households when it comes to housing. For that reason alone I made a conscious decision to promote new urbanism in communities where women gather.

If we’re going to renew our large potentially rich urban centers and save our suburbs from becoming future wastelands we need to engage more women and men in casual conversations about the benefits of new urbanism and its role in building a new economy, lifestyle and livelihood for communities.

We need to encourage our civic leaders to make decisions that will make our communities and neighborhoods, green, walkable places that support local businesses, public transit and create welcoming spaces for residents to socialize and to get to “know one another.”

Finally a treat for you.  Here’s an interview featuring someone I consider a true visionary when it comes to re-imagining our cities in truly practical ways. I’m speaking of course of Richard Florida. I’ve written about him before in this blog, and I’m sure I’ll be mentioning him again and again. If you’re looking for some fresh ideas not just on how to apply new urbanism principles but on how to pull ourselves out of this recession and into a new economy, you’ll enjoy.  Click here to listen to this NPR interview.