Guy Kawasaki has a new book out called Enchantment. I'm only half-way through it but it has me thinking about the proponents and practitioners of New Urbanism and how the most successful people and projects are indeed enchanting. There are many more ingredients that can be added to the mix, but having a healthy helping of all of the above has been a consistent recipe for success.
The parallel causes of Traditional Architecture and New Urbanism have both had rough starts and faced many road blocks in the early years. What led to the successes we celebrate today had less to do with the star power of the myriad personalities involved and more to do with the wonderful places created. Strolling through some of these towns, seeing the people riding bikes, enjoying a drink at an outdoor café, and bearing witness to a striving human habitat in a beautiful setting is an enchanting experience.
Along the way, it must be said, there were some less successful projects. Many investigations have been done to determine why some towns are great successes and why others fail. I often liken creating a town to baking a cake. Every ingredient in the recipe is important, no matter how small. If you leave out one of the ingredients you just won't have cake.
What, then, is the recipe for creating an enchanting place? Must it always be cake, or can there be brownies, cookies, and scones? The reality is that every place is different and will have its own flavor, but there are certain ingredients I've noticed in all the Traditional Neighborhood Developments I have visited and the ones where I lived that make all the difference. The most successful projects always manage to include each and every ingredient.
- Passionate Town Founder
It takes a special person to go through the pain of founding a town. They are unsatisfied with business as usual developments and seek out a better way. Once they make their decision they are fully engaged and learn everything they can about towns and town making. They tend to be studious and adopt a 'hands on' approach. It's usually very easy to get in touch with the developer of an enchanting Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND).
- Elegant Town Plan
Some of the best town plans take great pains to provide wonderful spaces, connected streets, and beautiful vistas that make it easy to find your way around and is welcoming even to those to that don't live there. By understanding that the whole town is greater than the sum of its buildings a well crafted town plan creates an enchanting place.
- Enchanting Town Architect
To help keep the vision of the town the most successful TNDs will have a town architect on staff. Building your dream home can quickly turn into a nightmare, however, an enchanting town architect can make the process a pleasure. Spend some time with Eric Moser or Scott Merrill and you will be enchanted.
- Practitioners Faithful to the Vision
The most enchanting TNDs attract top design talent as well as master builders who produce stunningly beautiful work. They, too, are enchanted by the Town and are inspired to do their best work. It is not uncommon for these professionals to relocate in order to work within an environment they enjoy.
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