America’s Future Cities: Who’s Planning Them and What Will They Be Like?

Mark Hinshaw, City Planner and Author of “True Urbanism” Shares The Latest Community/Building Trends in Our Area And Across The Nation. Imagine a community populated by people who prefer walking to driving, who like being around lots of other people, and who enjoy sharing sidewalks and streets, cafes and art galleries, shops and services. These are the cities evolving right now as Americans begin to re-evaluate their lifestyles and pursue a more community-oriented way of life. In a new book that was released on April 16th, Mark Hinshaw explains that true urbanismcommunities based on the idea of a “city center” are a trend that’s revolutionizing plans for the communities of tomorrow. Hinshaw says that Americans are rejecting sterile, paint-by-numbers subdivisions in favor of diverse, populated, vibrant and unpredictable urban neighborhoods. True urbanism is the idea of compact, walkable communities, as opposed to sprawling isolated suburban enclaves epitomized by the “gated community.” In places like Oakland and Long Beach, California, and Tacoma, Washington, and even cities deep in the American heartland like St. Paul, Minnesota; Kansas City, Missouri; and Dallas, Texas these communities are cropping up. Older suburbs are now becoming cities in their own right – Stamford, Connecticut; Bethesda, Maryland; Bellevue, Washington; Walnut Creek; and Pasadena, California, are seeing thousands of units of housing built next to their commercial cores, something that was unthinkable 10 or 15 years ago. Mark Hinshaw talks about the idea of True Urbanism, whats taking place in our community and the American Planning Associations National Planning Conference in Philadelphia, an example of an evolving urbanist community. More about Mark Hinshaw: Mark Hinshaw, FAICP, is a city planner and architect with more than 30 years of public-and private-sector experience and the former commentator on planning and design for The Seattle Times. He is currently director of urban design for LMN Architects in Seattle. https://videos.whiteblox.com/gnb/secure/player.aspx?sid=32273