The Art of the New Urbanism

A coming book on the New Urbanism that will blow a lot of socks off. The Art of the New Urbanism Volume 1, highlights an aspect of the movement that is long overdue for examination: The works of the talented artists who have drawn renderings and plans for countless projects.

Explains co-author Charles Bohl, Director of the Master in Real Estate + Urbanism Program at the University of Miami: “The illustrations have been a means to an end, to help get plans and proposals approved, for more vibrant walkable communities, but many of the works have also stood on their own, as works of fine art. It’s these artistic works of art that most often stay with people, as visions of what great neighborhoods and communities could be.” 

The book contains 260 renderings, plans, and photos by over 100 practitioners, "representing the best of the first three formative decades of the art and artistry of the New Urbanism,” notes co-author James Dougherty, principal of Dover, Kohl & Partners and one of the featured artists. The book, to be published by Wiley before CNU33 in Providence in early June, covers renderings and plans from the 1980s through 2010. 

The authors argue that not only were the ideas of New Urbanism important, but also the art. The art, like the charrette, was innovative in US planning and development in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Conventional planning included drawings and plans, but they were typically technical. New Urbanism brought more artistry to planning meetings across the US. 

Because mixed-use communities were a new idea, going against the codes and typical development practice, the renderings gave citizens the tools to “decide if this is the future they want,” Dougherty says.

The first three decades were an era of bold plans for New Urbanism, often—but not always—following the Daniel Burnham adage: “Make no little plans, for they have no power to stir men’s blood.” The images and plans in The Art of the New Urbanism are stirring, today as much as when they were first revealed. 

We will be reporting more on The Art of New Urbanism in the coming weeks, including an On the Park Bench webinar on May 13. For now, here is a two-minute trailer that can give you an idea of what to expect.

You can preorder The Art of the New Urbanism here.