Analysis Of The Congress Of New Urbanism Landscape Design Principles And Social Interaction

The Congress of New Urbanism (CNU) is a relatively new topic among urban developers, planners, and city leaders. It seeks to change the way cities and towns are built by creating compact neighborhoods that encourage pedestrian activity. This study was an exploration of the design principles of the Congress of New Urbanism (CNU) as they relate to contemporary neighborhood design research and how effective they are at stimulating social interaction through increased use of outdoor areas. The context of the study stems from the CNU implying that friendly sociable neighborhoods can be physically designed (Talen 2002). More specifically the CNU states that the design characteristics used foster social interaction within neighborhoods through increased use of the outdoor areas (Duany 2000).
The study reviewed research examining how to create urban neighborhoods that engender social interactions such as Lennard's (1987) research on social design principles and Hester's (1984) research on good neighborhood space. The primary research method included a cross-sectional behavioral study collecting data on neighborhood use and social interaction from a new urbanism and single use residential neighborhood. The study offers insight into the correlations of CNU design principles and contemporary neighborhood research and concludes with a review of effectiveness of the Congress of New Urbanism design principles as related to social interaction and neighborhood use.