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Posted on October 26 at 3:15 p.m.

Since some background information is warranted, Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TNDs) are based on the planning concept typically identified as New Urbanism. In turn, New Urbanism incorporates the initiatives commonly identified as “Sustainable and/or Green Design,” so that a TND community includes: Compact/Walkable neighborhoods; A clearly defined center with civic spaces that include small retailers that support the local residents; Interconnected streets with few (if any) parking lots that are placed away from “sight lines;” A mix of housing options; and Green spaces.
Although it is difficult to argue against those concepts, they do become problematic when a TND community is planned for a residential area. The issues include the lot sizes, vehicular traffic, the civic and commercial uses, and the compatibility of traditional architecture with the adjacent neighborhoods. Fortunately these are not new points of contention, and there are a host of TND communities throughout the US that have addressed those issues in a manner that was acceptable to both the developers and the affected neighborhoods. In addition, recent research is starting to come in supportive of the TND ideas, such as a study in the American Planning Association Journal titled “Testing the Claims of New Urbanism”.
Some studies have shown that a major point of contention has been the integration of the new development with an existing residential community. The issue is the proposed “tie-in” of TND streets to the existing street-grid of the adjacent neighborhoods since this would naturally translate into increased vehicular traffic. This matter can be ameliorated if the developer demonstrates that there will always be an increase in traffic. So that the issue is not an increase in vehicular traffic, but whether the residents would rather have increased gridlock in major arteries such as Lee Drive and Perkins, or have traffic “filter” through minor streets.
Although most residents may hark back to a time when the south-side of Lee Drive was considered semi-rural, it is now geographically located in an urban context, and the reality is that Rouzan IS in an urban context. And the idea of neighborhood connectivity has been particularly successful since elderly residents and children find the “novel” concept of SIDEWALKS and FRONT-PORCHES as both physically and socially rewarding.
So what is the problem presented by Rouzan? It appears that there was limited communication. If this is the case, this violates what could be considered the overriding tenet of a TND: That it is a participative and inclusive process. I believe that it is not too late for a cooperative and constructive dialogue to evolve, given that the TND positives far outweigh the negatives; particularly the fact that the when TNDs have been constructed, a direct consequence has been an increase in property values for the neighboring communities.

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