New Ruralism: Sustainable Community Planning

Much has been written of late of new urbanism, that important approach to sustainable land planning which emphasizes the creation of walkable communities in a more village-like rather than suburban setting, with homes, jobs and shopping close enough at hand that life no longer need revolve around the automobile. But how should we design our rural areas, particularly those not well suited to farming or grazing? How can we build sustainable communities in rural settings for those who may desire a rural life-style, rather than sprawling, automobile-dependent suburbs? Can we provide rural housing in a way that actually protects and stewards critical habitat and resources rather than fragments and consumes them? Is the term ‘rural community’ oxymoronic or does it suggest new possibilities?

These questions have been at the center of much of the work our office has done for the last decade. We believe that limited, well-designed development can be an invaluable tool in the effort to conserve and protect the natural landscape. The “new ruralist” projects in which our office have participated have all shared a few key traits:

• A reduction in existing density: The primary emphasis of viable new ruralist projects must be on conservation, not on maximizing densities or return on investment.
• Clustering: Rather than the sprawling patchwork of development typical of conventional rural estate development (aka “too big to mow, too small to plow”) a pattern which minimizes infrastructure and impacts by clustering development onto a small portion of a project site, and which preserves the larger portion to be owned and stewarded in common by the property owners for conservation and recreation, provides a “win-win” for both residents and the environment.
• Proximity to jobs and shopping: Automobile use remains a huge component of the carbon emissions and more thoughtful land use planning can make a significant impact in the effort to turn around global of climate change. Our “new ruralist” developments cannot be placed miles from the jobs and shopping which are essential to our daily life – they must be located proximate to existing “villages” with jobs and shopping or of a scale that such jobs and shopping can be provided and sustained.
• Community gardens: The resurgence of the community garden is one of the most encouraging trends of the last decade. What better way to build community than by working together to provide fresh, healthy and affordable food? Every new ruralist development needs a community garden.