Author(s)

N. M. Truog

Abstract

Urban centers throughout the world are places of commerce, tourism, education, and, most importantly, a residence for many. In a time when urban development and re-development are on the minds of government and citizens alike, it is worthwhile considering how important the principles of New Urbanism are to our modern-day cities, specifically Chicago, Illinois, USA. Keywords: sustainable development, new urbanism, smart growth, Chicago, sustainability, greening, community development. 1 Introduction New Urbanism is defined on the website www.newurbanism.org as \“Giving more people more choices about where and how they want to live;” and the movement entails creating a better future for all. It is a way to reform the design of the existing environment, and raise the quality of life for all. It looks at both how to fix existing cities and how to create compact new towns and villages. Chicago is a city in a constant state of development. The leadership of Chicago is committed to developing Chicago in a manner that will help Mayor Daley achieve his sustainability goal of making Chicago the greenest city in the nation, if not the world. The greening of Chicago could be achieved by following the principles of New Urbanism, as one of these principles is sustainability, and focuses on the environment within a community. New Urbanism presents an opportunity for cities to improve the quality of life for residents, help the environment, create more livable space, and improve how space is used from a single building to an entire community. This paper will explore the principles of New Urbanism and the principles that are applied in Chicago. Edmund Bacon, an urban planner whose vision shaped current-day Philadelphia, said, \“The building of cities is one of man’s greatest achievements”

Keywords

sustainable development, new urbanism, smart growth, Chicago, sustainability, greening, community development.