Is a new urban development model building greener communities?

Although neotraditional architecture largely focuses on promoting sense of community (SOC), it has the potential to influence environmentalism in residents as well. In October 2002, the authors conducted a mail survey of 1,611 middle-class homeowners in Gainesville, Florida, to determine if there were differences in SOC and environmental behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge among homeowners from three development types (traditional, post-World War II, and neotraditional). The neotraditional community reported the strongest SOC among the development types. In terms of environmental behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge, however, the neotraditional community was not more environmentally friendly than were the post-World War II communities and it was considerably less so than was the traditional community. The results suggest that neotraditional design could play a role in influencing homeowners' SOC but that it may not go far enough in terms of promoting the environmental behaviors and awareness needed to form sustainable communities.