Get comfortable before clicking this link: it's a series of articles wherein New Urbanism topics are examined through the lens of organized religion -
New Urbanists contend that the main defect of standard suburban development (a.k.a. sprawl) is not aesthetic or even environmental but social: its tendency to undermine the building of community and intergenerational cohesion. For this reason, they insist that the planning profession (at all levels) must reinstate the community-forming elements of traditional neighborhood design in new town development and urban renewal projects. Although the New Urbanists claim that traditional towns and urban neighborhoods are more conducive to developing community and provide more life choices than contemporary suburban living, their critics counter that the New Urbanist designs are artificial, elitist, and open the door to increased intervention by government. Regardless of which view one takes, the interdisciplinary nature of the New Urbanist project coupled with the fact that the movement raises important issues concerning the theological and ethical dimensions of market activity and human anthropology, makes Markets & Morality an ideal forum in which to explore further the possible promises and potential perils of the New Urbanism.
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