Planning and Social Diversity: Residential Segregation in American New Towns

摘要

This is a comparative case study of residential segregation in three US 'new towns'. New towns are distinct from older suburban and other master-planned communities in four regards: larger size, mixed use of land, existence of a master developer and phased planning. The study investigates whether the three new towns, which are considered highly successful in the field of urban planning, have broken the older patterns of racial diversity and residential segregation. Based on 2000 Census data, it is found that these new towns are much less segregated overall than their surrounding metropolitan areas and suburbs, although each community indicates different patterns of racial diversity and integration. By contrasting each community's planning visions and practices with the levels of racial diversity and segregation, the paper explores the contributions of urban planning to residential integration.