Out of Control

This opinon piece from the Christian Science Monitor got me thinking. I certainly agree with the author that society is much different today and we are generally a less neighborly society than we once were. He writes:

Often I long for an earlier America, one I've seen more of in historical photos than experienced in real life. It's an America of concrete stoops and front porches, of town and city life where people not only know neighbors by name, but take the time to talk with them.

and also..

After a recent snow, I walked my golden retriever, Casey, and passed between two neighbors shoveling snow. On my right was an elderly man, approaching 80. He clearly labored as he shoveled his walk. Across the street, a young father, in his 30s, was putting the finishing touches on his perfect snow-blower cleared walkway, which arced around the front and side of his property. If he noticed the old fellow 25 feet away, he never acknowledged him. He clearly hadn't offered to lend a hand.

Lanson, the piece's author, laments the state of our populus and sees little hope in the internet building a new form of community. While this is not a commentary on urban design, I can't help but ponder the promise of new urbanism, with its front porches, town centers, narrow streets, and an overall alleged return to the "old days."

At least, that is how it is marketed. "Nostalgia-burbs" I call them because they are not all that different from many other suburbs except for the fact that they offer buyers the promise of exactly what Lanson is talking about - the good old days.

The problem of course is that building retro urban design will not change people and the society that Lanson is concerned about. And they still may not help their neighbors shovel the snow.