New Urbanism in assessing sustainability of Polish and American suburbs
New Urbanism in assessing sustainability of Polish and American suburbs

Author(s): Dorota Mantey
Subject(s): Environmental Geography, Human Ecology, Environmental interactions
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: New Urbanism; Biophilic Design; Agrarian Urbanism; suburbs; LEED-ND; Siewierz Jeziorna; Serenbe
Summary/Abstract: While in the U.S. there are numerous suburbs entirely following the concept of New Urbanism or Food Urbanism, in Poland it is still challenging to find examples of such estates. The article is aimed at comparing two sustainable suburban neighbourhoods: Serenbe in Georgia, U.S., and Siewierz Jeziorna, Poland. It presents a new tool for evaluating suburban settlements based on LEED-ND and CNU. While in Poland we still mainly build the idea of urbanity on dense and accessible settlements that generate walking and neighbouring activities, Americans seem to be evolving towards Biophilic Design, Agrarian Urbanism, and the process of restoring human scale to cities and their suburbs based on culture and art. The broader spatial context, linkages, and location are the most neglected sustainable development elements, while the trend of urban design harmonious with nature is steadily gaining importance.

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