In very old cities in Europe and Asia, most of the land area is available for buildings housing people and businesses. Interaction among the people is both frequent and intimate. When the city is built at a human scale, (i.e. for pedestrians) most goods and services are readily available. Interestingly, these cities have low crime (many eyes on the street) low pollution, and low road maintenance expenses, and residents express very high satisfaction with their community.

TND is a response to the wasteful sprawling expanse of low-density commercial and residential development common in the U.S. since World War II. This sprawl is caused by designing new development almost exclusively for travel by automobile, while discouraging other ways of travel (high speed roads - difficult pedestrian crossings). Sprawl consumes valuable farmland and wildlife habitat in its wake, increases runoff, and destroys neighborhoods with speeding car traffic. TND designs for people first, and automobiles are a secondary priority. TND looks to the best development patterns of our predecessors for building today's towns and cities. TND practitioners have studied the development patterns prior to the advent of the automobile. The result has been new road standards, that emphasize minimizing pavement and traffic speeds in neighborhoods. Residential architectural design places entry doors and porches facing the street, with garages tucked into the back of homes. New subdivisions provide a mix of homes at costs appropriate for single parent families, seniors, and students, as well as the archetypal two parents, two children, one cat one dog family. Commercial development fronts the street, has well-landscaped parking and is pedestrian friendly. Transit access is considered a primary need. TND protects the natural amenities of an area by minimizing alterations (channeling creeks) or avoiding sensitive areas, such as nesting habitat. Architecture reproduces the local vernacular (e.g. Craftsman, Victorian,). This is in contrast to the generic tract homes and Big Box stores surrounded by acres of asphalt being built in most American cities today. Most of all, TND seeks to offer a sense of place, where community can prosper. Many studies have shown that when neighbors know and can watch out for each other, crime rates are only a fraction of disjointed areas near-by where people have no sense of place and belonging.

The Wind Song Development in Arcata, California, incorporates many TND features. Houses all have open space with continuously linked walkways in the back yard. The streets are fairly narrow to discourage fast auto traffic, and pedestrian-friendly intersections. Storm water runoff is detained on-site, allowing ground water recharge. A central open space area with playground equipment provides a safe place for children to play near home. Backyard fences are kept to a minimum, allowing neighborhood watch to function naturally and effectively. Lastly, the narrow streets have saved enough land to allow restoration of a wetland, providing an excellent bird viewing area adjacent to the subdivision.

A study of transportation use patterns comparing 50 towns in the San Francisco Bay Area showed a strong correlation between population density and miles driven per capita. The most densely populated city, San Francisco, had 1/2 the auto mileage per capita compared to sprawling outlying towns. Transit, walking, and rail use were also much higher in towns that had at least 8 dwellings per acre, compared with sprawling towns of 5 or less dwellings per acre. (The California Sierra Club, 1993). A 1984 study compared two "new towns" in England. The town of Milton Keynes, built at a density of 12 persons per hectare, supported bus service at average frequencies of 30 minutes with 42% of operating cost borne by government subsidy. Redditch, built at 23 persons per hectare, supported bus service with 10 minute frequencies, and only requires a 6% government subsidy to transit operations. (K. Bartholomew, 1995). Between 1984 and 1994, shopping centers and home sites consumed approximately 40% of Durham County's (North Carolina) cropland. This drastically changed the region's historically rural character. (The Road to Sprawl, Friends of the Earth, Spring 1997), www.foe.org.

New mixed use development in Vail, Colorado, with apartments over shops. Parking is shared, but demand is at different times of day. The result is less paving overall, and enhanced security for both residents and business owners, and someone is on the site 24 hours a day.

The Land Use, Transportation, and Air Quality study undertaken by 1000 Friends of Oregon has a number of project reports that support its findings for making Portland, OR less dependent on freeways and more oriented toward transit. Seven of these reports, four in their entirety, are available on the web at: www.teleport.com/~friends/index.html. The Florida Department of Transportation Safety Office has published a simple, well illustrated guide to improving existing neighborhoods. Walkable Communities, Twelve Steps for an Effective Program. Contact the Florida Pedestrian /Bicycle Program at (850) 487-1200 or visit their website at: http://www.dot.state.fl.us/safety/ped_bike/ped_bike.htm Walkable Communities offers a variety of slide shows and publications on bicycle facility design, traffic calming, and improving the pedestrian environment, www.walkable.org, (850) 454-3304.

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