Wendell Cox reviews Atlanta's new Atlantic Station, and is pleasantly surprised to find lots of parking underneath the New Urbanist-style development. Could this be the inevitable blend of urban and suburban?
"Atlantic Station is traditionally urban but is surprisingly suburban. On the surface, Atlantic Station appears to fit many of the New Urbanist design criteria. The buildings start at the sidewalk (pavement) line, rather than being behind parking lots. There are no indoor shopping malls. Instead the stores are directly on the streets, reminiscent of old downtowns or the first shopping centers, like Country Club in Kansas City.
Some of the normally superficial New Urbanism, however, is even more ephemeral in Atlantic Station. For one thing, prime New Urbanist lynchpins --- anti-automobile design, pedestrian orientation, transit orientation, paid parking, banning of big box stores --- do not apply there."
FULL STORY: Atlanta's Atlantic Station: The Suburbs Come to the City
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