My trip to New Orleans for the unveiling of the Katrina Cottage was also my first exposure to New Urbanism, a large scale architectural movement taking place across the globe, especially in America and Europe. Elements of this movement are much too complex and varied to describe in the confines of this site. For those interested I suggest visiting www.cnu.org for more information. New Urbanist projects endeavor to create pedestrian-friendly cityscapes both for residential and commercial purposes. One such project called Mashpee Commons was built fairly close to my home on Cape Cod. I walked through one day last spring and snapped the pictures you see here. Mashpee Commons recreates a “main street” type of feel. Although there are roads through the project, most either end in a Tee or a dead end to encourage shoppers to park in peripheral parking lots and stroll through. Buildings in Mashpee Commons hearken back to the look of indigenous main streets on Cape Cod and nearby southeastern Massachusetts. One street reminded me so much of Main Street in the town of Harwichport, that I included a shot of that street for comparison.
R.A.O.