KEEPING THE NEWS LOCAL.... AND THE COMMUNITY CONNECTED.
VOLUME 2 EDITION 5
MAY 2021
LIVE
The Importance of the Environment in Traditional Neighborhood Developments
By Raven Halle
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As Earth Day approaches and conversations surrounding climate and environment become even more prevalent, it’s increasingly important to talk about and understand the ways in which the place we call home influences the environment—and also how the environment influences our home. Like we’ve examined in prior articles, traditional neighborhood developments (TNDs) focus on using, rather than reducing, their natural environments. In short, traditional neighborhood developments conserve energy through efficient land use while also lessening the dependence on automobiles, which, in turn, promotes pedestrian movement towards parks, lakes, and the other green spaces typical of TNDs. Where conventional neighborhood developments place precedence on the automobile, traditional neighborhood developments center around foot and bicycle traffic. And although TNDs focus primarily on non-automobile modes of transportation, the consideration of the environment in relation to the automobile is made clear: things like street trees serve to reduce visual pollution, and large, often circular patches of grass help to both mitigate and direct the
ties in with the idea of public transportation.
While many traditional neighborhoods may not have their own forms of public transportation we would consider typical, like buses or subways, it is often the case that we can consider carpooling to be its own sort of public transport. The increase of social interaction as a result of green spaces like parks lead to a greater sense yards. flow of traffic. These of connection, which successes in walkability Since we have previous- can then grow organare made possible by ly gone into detail about ically into a system of working with the land, carpooling—whether the aforementioned not against it. it be to work, school, a things like pedestrian place of worship, or the traffic, street trees, and Even in language is green spaces, it’s neces- grocery store. the importance of the sary to now view things earth to traditional Further, and on a larger from a wider lens, neighborhoods made scale, traditional neighespecially in relation evident. For example, borhoods are rendered to Earth Day and the we use the term “built environmentally susenvironment” to refer to environmental impact tainable through things of traditional neighthe man-made features borhood developments that are intentional, like of TNDs. Combining parks and lakes, and “built,” which suggests on their surrounding things that, like nature, something not naturally natural environments. Some base principles of happen organically, made, with “environlike community-grown ment,” which implies TNDs, including walkability, accessibility, and public transportation. an organic component, Street trees combat visudoes much to show that affordability, further al pollution and serve contribute to the earliTNDs, at their linguisas a method of forest tic core, are concerned er conversation about conservation; walkabilwith making the best placing more emphaity reduces greenhouse use of organic elements, sis on bicycle and foot emissions; green spaces traffic than on vehicuwhether they occur add fresh, breathable lar traffic. This notion naturally like lakes or alone is huge in terms of air; and mixed-use are planted, like street buildings cut down trees. These aspects aim sustainability: because TNDs are developed in on construction. All of to create synergies not a way that values walk- these factors exemplify only between built and ability and accessibility, the notion of naturalnatural environments, ly-occurring sustainabilit is inherent to most but also between resiity. And it’s because of dents of a community TNDs that automothese things that TNDs bile-produced carbon by inviting more social are sustainable, and emissions are much interaction and lessenthrough TNDs, we find ing the isolating factors lower, as non-motor found in conventional modes of transportation connections that ultimately sustain us all. neighborhoods, such are encouraged more as fenced-in parks and than driving. This, then,
