What is Great Urban Design? Principles and Benefits Explained

If you've walked through a European town, narrow streets lined with shops, sidewalk cafés where neighbours gather, parks within walking distance, buildings that frame streets rather than hide behind parking lots, you've experienced Old Urbanism…one of the things most people in North America will pay money to fly across the Ocean to see and experience.  For the most part, North America has the exact opposite - suburban sprawl.  

Within the North American context, “New Urbanism” grew out of Traditional Neighbourhood Planning and the desire to build something different than the typical.  It packaged up a few basic principles of Old Urbanism and applied them to fit within the North American context. In some ways, the original intention of “New Urbanism” actually did a fairly decent job of promoting the creation of human-scale, walkable, mixed-use communities across N. America.  More recently, however, New Urbanism has sadly become a tool used by governments and planning agencies to promote their agendas of over-densification, rental housing, 15-minute cities and staunch conformance to land while sacrificing the original intent for beauty, human scale and quality urban design.  

For the purpose of this article, I will simply focus on Traditional Neighbourhood Design (TND), which has elements of New Urbanism in it, but is far more flexible and respectful of its ecological and social context.  After 25+ years of designing master planned communities, I can tell you traditional neighbourhood design isn't nostalgia or aesthetic preference, it's a proven strategy for creating developments that command premium prices while building places people genuinely love.

What is Traditional Neighbourhood Development? The Core Definition

Here's what Traditional Neighbourhood Development (New Urbanism in its original form) actually means, how it works in practice, and why it matters for your next development.

Traditional Neighbourhood Development (TND) generally promotes walkable, mixed-use neighbourhoods designed at the human scale as opposed to the scale of the automobile. It emerged in the 1980s and 1990s as a response to the placelessness of suburban sprawl driven by car-dependent design and development patterns, and the subsequent erosion of architectural and urban design aesthetics in conventional subdivisions.

At its essence, TND argues that the design of places shapes how we live, and that there is a better way to design places that foster interaction between people and their neighbours. 

The Fundamental Idea

Communities should be designed for people first, while understanding that cars are very much part of our lifestyle and should be adequately accommodated as opposed to ignored. Streets should be safe and walkable for all ages.  Neighbourhoods should generally include a mix of uses and product typologies for a wider socio-economic segment, with some daily needs accessible by walking. Buildings should create public spaces, not just occupy private lots. Architecture should contribute to a cohesive whole, not stand in isolation.

This is how towns were built for centuries before the automobile. TND is essentially the reconfiguration of suburbia into traditional neighbourhoods and towns where there is a defined centre and defined edge.  In other words, you intuitively know when you are at the centre of Town vs. when you are on the edge.  

At New Urban Design Group, we are committed to the creation of human-scaled cities, towns, and neighbourhoods through our imaginative and integrative approach to town planning and land development. As the name already references, this commitment aligns directly with the general original New Urbanist and Traditional Neighbourhood Development design principles.  The focus of our firm is to build beautiful neighbourhoods, towns and cities regardless of where they are located in the world by often using the best of local urban design and architectural character.  Utilizing time-tested principles of aesthetics, building disposition and design, we integrate the best of European and North American urban design into livable communities.  

The Charter of the New Urbanism

The movement is formalized in the Charter of New Urbanism, adopted in 1996 by the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU). The Charter outlines principles at three scales:

1. The Region: Metropolis, City, and Town. To guide metropolitan planning, directing growth into compact, walkable communities rather than dispersed sprawl.

2. The Neighbourhood, the District, and the Corridor Neighbourhoods should be compact, pedestrian-friendly, and mixed-use, with clear centres and edges.

3. The Block, the Street, and the Building. Streets and buildings should define and enhance public space rather than prioritize private space and parking.

These are practical design guidelines that translate into measurable outcomes, both in how communities function and how they perform financially.

The Core Principles of Traditional Neighbourhood Development

There are several interconnected principles. Understanding these helps you recognize TND and understand it strategically.

1. Walkability

Most things are within a 10-minute walk of home and work. Pedestrian-friendly street design with buildings closer to streets, porches and windows facing sidewalks, tree-lined streets, and on-street parking that calms traffic.

Walkability is about choice. In an ideal world, all our daily needs would be accessible by foot…but we all know that is unrealistic and wishful thinking.  However, we can still design our neighbourhoods, towns and cities to be walkable while also accommodating the vehicle is not only realistic, but also good planning.  Neighbourhoods where residents can walk, bike, or drive based on preference and circumstances increase quality of life and property values.

Walkable neighbourhoods allow for approximately 30-40% of trips to be on foot, reducing household transportation costs, increasing social interaction, and creating the activity that makes streets feel alive.  In short, walkability also creates healthier neighbourhoods. 

The financial impact: Homes in walkable neighbourhoods command 10-20% premiums over comparable homes in conventional sprawl neighbourhoods. Buyers pay for the option to walk, even if they drive most of the time.

2. Connectivity

An interconnected street network disperses traffic, promotes walkability and eases congestion. Incorporating a hierarchy of narrow streets, boulevards, and alleys further encourages walkability by including enjoyable High-quality pedestrian networks and eases traffic congestion. 

Contrast with conventional development (CSD): Suburban subdivisions typically feature discontinuous street patterns: cul-de-sacs feeding into collectors feeding into arterials. This forces all traffic onto a few roads, eliminates alternate routes, and makes walking dangerous and circuitous.

TND (and New Urbanist) street networks generally are interconnected, providing multiple routes between destinations. This distributes traffic, reduces congestion, and supports walkability.

We believe streets should respond to topography and context rather than follow rigid engineering standards. On a 450-acre hillside project, we designed a modified street network that followed natural contours while maintaining connectivity. The result: reduced grading costs, preserved view corridors, and improved walkability compared to a forced grid pattern.

3. Mixed-Use and Diversity of Product Types

Great neighbourhoods are generally characterized by having a mix of shops, offices, apartments, townhomes, and single-family homes.  Mixed-use strategically located within the neighbourhood and block further allows for a variety of product typologies that appeal to different market segments and income levels. 

What This Looks Like In Practice

Ground-floor retail with residential above. Coffee shops and corner stores within neighbourhoods, not just in strip malls. Live-work units and Secondary suites are carefully integrated into residential areas so as not to overwhelm or change the character of the block. This mixing creates the activity and variety that so many typical suburban subdivisions lack. 

It should be noted that, depending on local market conditions and building codes.  Mixed-use can be challenging: Financing, phasing, zoning, and operational complexity make mixed-use harder than single-use development. Residential and commercial operate on different timelines and require different expertise, and in some cases, mixing uses may simply not be feasible.  However, many municipalities have become more open to the idea of integrating mixed-use into new residential development master plans.  

The residential area above benefits from walkable amenities below. The retail benefits from the built-in customers above. Both benefit from the activity and character that mixing creates.

4. Mixed Housing Types

The Traditional Pattern

Neighbourhoods historically included varied housing types. Large homes on prominent corners and towards the edge of the neighbourhood, townhouses closer to the centre, and apartments above shops located at the centre.  Looking back at the way European small towns were planned decades ago…small cottages and carriage houses (secondary suites) can be included so long as they are highly controlled and limited in quantity. It is vitally important that the character and feel of neighbourhoods do not change for owners in the neighbourhood. Careful placement and planning for product diversity can allow for a variety of dwelling types in a neighbourhood. 

The suburban deviation

Post-war suburbanization separated housing types into homogeneous single-use pods. These fragmented Single-family subdivisions here often locate apartment complexes clustered together at random locations, just like townhomes being located along certain streets or in “Condo” style developments. Shopping centres are car-centric and typically revolve around large parking lots as opposed to being located along “main streets”.  This separation of uses only increases driving and eliminates character.

TND (New Urbanist) Approach

Integrate housing types within neighbourhoods through careful design. Transitions matter. You don't place six-story apartments directly next to single-family cottages. But you can create gradual transitions: single-family on larger lots, single-family on smaller lots, townhouses, low-rise multi-family, then taller buildings near mixed-use centres.

This mixing creates housing options for different life stages. Young singles rent apartments, young families buy townhouses or small single-family houses, growing families move to larger single-family homes, empty nesters may downsize to apartments or smaller homes, all within the same neighbourhood. This lifecycle housing supports community stability and diversity.

5. Beautiful Architecture and Urban Design

Emphasis on beauty, aesthetics, personal comfort, and safety all work together to create a sense of place. The placement of civic uses and sites within the community at key locations and terminated vistas also works toward building civic pride. Well thought out Urban Design ensures the public realm uses Human-scale both in landscape design and context, as well as in relation to the buildings framing the spaces in between.   

What This Means Practically

Buildings should be designed in context with their surroundings, not as isolated objects but as contributors to the public realm. We see each building as a "Building in Context." We believe buildings have a distinct hierarchy and, if placed together, are compatible in size, use, architectural language, and siting.

Architecture should employ traditional principles: proportion, scale, materials, and details that have proven to be beautiful and are timeless. Understanding why certain proportions, relationships, and details create beauty and applying those principles in contemporary ways is important.

Civic buildings (town halls, libraries, schools, churches) should occupy prominent sites and employ classical proportioning and architecture that signals their importance. A community centre hidden behind parking lacks the presence it deserves; a stately stone facade building will have much more presence than a modernist glass block and last longer.  

We take great care in the design for each building. For larger developments, we also design and manage the architectural guidelines for each project and work with a variety of architects and production firms to ensure a cohesive outcome.

6. Traditional Neighbourhood Structure

Discernible centre and edge. A hierarchy of Public spaces, a wide range of uses and densities, all within a 10-15 minute walk. 

The Centre

Successful neighbourhoods have identifiable centres: a square, a main street, a park, or a civic building that serves as the heart and gathering place. The centre is where you're most likely to encounter neighbours, where community events happen, and where mixed-use concentrates.

The Edge

Neighbourhoods should have defined edges; major streets, natural features, or parks that clearly delineate one neighbourhood from the next. Edges provide identity and provide the visitor with an understandable logic as to when they are “leaving town,” so to speak.  

7. Increased Density

More buildings, residences, shops, and services closer together for ease of walking, to enable a more efficient use of services and resources, and to create a more convenient and enjoyable place to live for those wishing to live in a more “urban” place.  

Density is perhaps the most misunderstood principle. Many hear "density" and imagine crowded high-rises in a typical suburban setting. Moreover, some Municipalities completely misunderstand the concept of density, also.  They are forcing densification into existing traditional single-family neighbourhoods and destroying the fabric of the neighbourhood.  We are firm believers in the concept of variety of housing typologies within the neighbourhood, but not at the expense of destroying them.  Density is not only about efficiencies, but it's about carefully considering the context and ensuring it works as part of a cohesive whole.  We also understand and appreciate that not everyone wants to live in a high-density neighbourhood, but most people want some level of interconnection towards building efficiency and walkability.  

Consider: A conventional suburban subdivision might achieve 2-4 units per acre with large lots and wide streets. A New Urbanist neighbourhood might achieve 6-12 units per acre through smaller lots, narrower streets, varied housing types, and efficient layout, all while feeling more spacious because of quality public spaces and preserved natural areas.

The key is where you put density. Concentrate it near the centres and transit. Graduate it toward the edges. Design public spaces well so increased density feels like vibrancy, not crowding.

The Financial Logic

Higher density spreads infrastructure costs over more units, reducing per-unit costs. It supports walkable retail by providing a customer base. It makes transit viable. And thoughtfully designed density commands premium pricing because of the walkable amenity and sense of place it enables.

8. Smart Transportation

A network of high-quality trains connecting cities, towns, and neighbourhoods. Pedestrian-friendly design that encourages walking and reduces the need for driving. Transit-oriented development concentrating mixed-use around transit stations.

In North American contexts where transit doesn't exist, the principle adapts: design street networks that support multiple modes (walking, biking, driving) rather than optimizing only for cars.

Street design matters enormously. Narrower streets calm traffic naturally. Tree-lined streets encourage walking. Interconnected networks distribute traffic. On-street parking buffers pedestrians from moving vehicles. These design choices shape behaviour.

Transit-oriented development (TOD) applies New Urbanist principles at transit stations: concentrating mixed-use, walkable neighbourhoods where transit access allows for optional car-free living while still providing adequate residential parking within each development site.  Even without existing transit, designing for future transit positions communities advantageously.

9. Sustainability

Minimal environmental impact of development and its operations. Energy-efficient technologies and respect for ecology and natural features. Compact, walkable design provides options for commuting and may reduce auto use and energy consumption.

TND and sustainability are deeply connected at the root:

• Walkability: Walkable neighbourhoods reduce vehicle miles travelled

• Efficient land use: TND typically consumes less land vs. CSD to preserve more open space and agricultural land, and reduces infrastructure per capita.

• Reduced infrastructure: narrower streets, the need for fewer public parking areas, and shared facilities reduce material consumption and construction impact.

• Preservation of natural systems: By concentrating development, more natural areas remain undisturbed. Working with topography reduces grading and erosion.

• Enduring value: Buildings and neighbourhoods designed for permanence generate less waste through demolition and rebuilding.

• Traditional Architecture: Traditional architecture, when done correctly, will utilize time-tested principles of proportion, scale and materials that will last much longer than modern design, which is often outdated within a few years.  

We believe in sustainable development principles and make every effort to utilize existing topography where possible, which often results in a development with more character and charm. This approach aligns sustainability with quality and profitability.

10. Quality of Life

Taken together, these principles result in a higher quality of life, more walkable and connected communities, a stronger sense of place and community, increased social interaction, improved public health, reduced transportation costs, and increased property values.

This isn't theoretical. Residents in walkable, mixed-use neighbourhoods report higher satisfaction, more social connections, better health outcomes, and lower stress than residents in conventional suburbs, while their properties appreciate faster.

Implementing Traditional Neighbourhood Development: Practical Considerations

If you're considering New Urbanism for your land development, here's what you need to know:

• Start with Market Research: Depending on project size and scope, we work with market research firms to confidently assess viability and provide insight into latent opportunities.

• Engage municipal planners early

• Invest in Quality Design: TND (New Urbanism) requires more design investment than conventional development. Budget appropriately for master planning, architectural guidelines, landscape design, and public space detail. This investment generates exponential returns when it comes to time to sell due to increased property values.

• Establish Strong Architectural Guidelines: Without enforceable guidelines, the aesthetic vision erodes during buildout as individual builders pursue standard products. Strong guidelines with review processes protect character and cohesion.

• Plan for Phasing Carefully: Each phase should ideally feel somewhat complete at each phase. Don't promise mixed-use or civic spaces that won't deliver for years. Early phases should showcase your vision and establish pricing.

• Consider Hiring "Keepers of the Plan": Maintaining the vision from conception through buildout requires dedicated oversight. Someone must protect design integrity, coordinate consultants, review architectural submissions, and ensure the built outcome matches the master plan intent.

  
  

Creating Places That Last

With over 87,000+ acres of master planned projects across North America, the Caribbean, and Europe, we take great pride in embracing local typologies while continually innovating. Our focus on Context, Beauty, Function, and Stewardship ensures every project delivers beauty, profitability, and lasting value.

If you do it right, it will last forever, and New Urban Design Group uses time-tested principles for doing it right.

Ready to Explore TND (New Urbanist) Design for Your Project?

Whether you're planning a traditional neighbourhood development, a mixed-use infill project, or seeking to enhance conventional development with New Urbanist principles, we bring decades of experience creating communities that are both beautiful and highly profitable.

Our European-trained design team combines Old World urbanism while delivering design expertise and principles that are applicable around the world.  We deliver projects that command premium prices while creating places that endure regardless of location.  

Contact us to discuss your vision: +1 403-607-0977 or info@newurbandesigngroup.com