From Urban land — the Magazine of the Urban Land Institute
Better Regional Planning Is Key to “Selling” Higher Densities
The biggest challenge facing developers hoping to create high-density, livable communities is not always bureaucracy or funding—it is often the people in the neighborhood, Peter Calthorpe told attendees at the 2015 ULI Fall Meeting.
“NIMBYism is the biggest issue we have to confront,” said Calthorpe, head of Calthorpe Associates, during a panel discussion. Concepts like building dense public housing and taller buildings are often “scary to the people in the U.S.,” the new urbanism advocate said in his opening remarks.
In a far-ranging and lively discussion, the panel—moderated by John Fitzgerald, chief executive officer of ULI Asia Pacific, and Lisette van Doorn, chief executive officer of ULI Europe—provided a broad rundown of the issues inherent in and obstacles to creating denser, more walkable neighborhoods. But the dialogue repeatedly came back to the public perception of high-density projects and the objections found in many communities.
