Influences and Impetus
The ideas of the urban commentator Jane Jacobs are widely regarded as having had the largest influence on the urban village concept. Jacobs rejected the modernist views that dominated urban planning and architecture in the 1950s-60s and constructed an alternative philosophy that values traditional neighborhoods and the role of the inner city. Proponents believe that urban villages provide a viable alternative to the social ills that characterize modernism in cities, such as freeways and high-rise estates.
Another strong impetus for urban villages has been growing disenchantment with the urban sprawl that has characterized the development of many cities since World War II. Urban villages are seen to create self-contained communities that reduce the need to travel large distances and reduce the subsequent reliance on the automobile. The decline of noxious industry and the emergence of the service economy allows the mixing of employment and residential activities without detriment to residents. This is in contrast to the single-use zoning that helped fuel urban sprawl during the industrial and manufacturing eras. Through more consolidated development, urban villages can reduce the intrusion of urban growth on the countryside. These environmental consequences of urban sprawl have come to dominate discussion promoting urban villages in recent years.
Urban villages are widely seen to provide a solution to the demise of community that is often associated with modernism and sprawl. The concept uses the social and physical morphology of the traditional rural village as an inspiration for creating better functioning communities. The urban village movement has been influenced by Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City ideals which also emphasize environmental determinism in relation to community. Urban design techniques such as public space and pedestrianization are employed to facilitate the development of community by encouraging human interaction. This philosophy shares many attributes with the new urbanism school of thought.
Read more about this topic: Urban Village
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