Because of the industrial revolution, the invention of the automobile, and the consequent development of freeways, cities worldwide have expanded into the countryside. As though it were a conspiracy of the automobile and fuel industry, the government, and private developers, suburbanization even now continues to damage the city. It has not only affected the physical fabric, but has also significantly affected the lives of its people. Most importantly, suburbanization has disturbed the environment, effectively contributing to the problems of global warming.
In the past two decades, as a response to suburbanization, uncontrolled urban growth, and global warming, several concepts on urbanism and urban design have surfaced. These include New Urbanism, Transit Oriented Developments (TODs), Planned Unit Developments (PUDs), and very recently, Sustainable Urban Design.
New Urbanism is a European influenced planning paradigm started in the United States in the late 1980s by a group of Architects and Urban Designers led by Andres Duany and Peter Calthorpe, to address the problems of suburban sprawl seen as a result of five decades of poor planning and unregulated growth. The concept proposes a vision of the future that combines the best of the past with the realities and modern conveniences of the present. Simplified, New Urbanism intends to restore the “sense of community” by recreating the fabric of old, tightly knit, compact towns and villages while still accommodating the modern day machines- the automobiles- that caused their destruction.
Closely related to New Urbanism are Transit Oriented Developments or TODs, conceptualized to focus on the transportation sector. TODs are communities with a central core anchored by a transit stop, either of light rail or express bus systems. Surrounding the stop is a civic plaza with commercial, institutional and office spaces. Outside the core are medium to high density
Bibliography: Books 1. Calthorpe, Peter. The Next American Metropolis. New York. Princeton Architectural Press. 1993 2. Clark, David. Urban World / Global City. London. Routledge. 1997 3. Dacanay, J.E.; Hila, M.C.A.; Perez, R.D. Balai Vernacular: Images of the Filipino’s Private Space. Pasay City. Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas. 1992 4. Katz, Peter. The New Urbanism, Toward an Architecture of Community. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1994 Essays / Surveys 1. Ayala Land, Inc. Pedestrian Survey. 1995 2. Corpuz, Arturo. The Relevance of New Urbanism to Philippine Urban Development. Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners (PIEP) Conference. Antiolo City. 1999 3. National Center for Transportation Services. Study on Mass Transit Systems in Metro Manila. 1998