This video from Strong Towns just looks at the financial differences between modern and traditional styles of development.Â
Beyond financial productivity, however, there are more reasons that traditional, compact, mixed-use, walkable/human-scale development is better.Â
By being compact, it puts destinations closer to where people live, meaning that walking, wheelchairing, or biking are actually realistic options. And the more people you can get out of cars, the better it is for the environment. And even for people who take cars, the trip would be much shorter, and a shorter trip uses less fuel than a longer one, which is still better for the environment.
Itâs better for small locally owned start-up businesses, because a large number of small retail spaces means rent for those spaces is cheaper, and therefore offers a safe, low-risk option for a new businesses owner.Â
Close-knit dense development is inherently âGreenerâ than a development area with plenty of LEED certified âGreenâ architecture that is very spread out and low-density. Denser development means a higher number of people and businesses sharing the same stretch of infrastructure (streets, water mains, sewers, etc), and also means people can actually choose to walk, take public transit, etc. This is more effective at cutting emissions than LEED certified buildings are, if those buildings are spread out enough that driving is a de-facto requirement, and the infrastructure that connects them has fewer people per square mile sharing it.
Itâs better physiologically - isolation and loneliness is a huge problem in low density areas like suburbs where there are few chances for happenstance encounters, or a sense of community.
Itâs safer - car-oriented development has wide roads that are difficult and unsafe for a pedestrian to cross. Traditional development is based around a close grid of narrow streets that force car traffic to slow down to safe speeds.
Unfortunately most city zoning codes in America favor auto-oriented development, and makes compact, mixed-use, âcomplete neighborhoodsâ illegal to build.
To change this, we ought to be engaging with our city council members (city councils decide zoning matters) and demanding human-scale, mixed-use neighborhoods, with enough density in short walking distance to support local businesses without relying on car traffic.Â
And to anyone who cringes at the word âdensityâ, that doesnât mean skyscrapers everywhere. Adding enough density to a neighborhood to have enough people to support small local businesses can be done with duplexes, fourplexes, and small apartment buildings. These, along with two to four story mixed use buildings can add plenty of extra âdensityâ to a neighborhood without damaging that small, calm neighborhood feel.Â