Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND)
Overview
TND is the primary planning template from New Urbanism (Duany Plater-Zyberk). It organizes ~1,000 residents within a 5-minute walkshed — a 1/4 mile radius from a mixed-use center. Total footprint typically 150–200 acres (roughly 1/4 square mile).
Density Gradient (Center Outward)
- Core: Mixed-use main street, civic buildings, retail with apartments above
- Inner ring: Townhouses
- Middle ring: Small-lot single family
- Outer edge: Larger lots, more green space
The most affordable/smallest units (SRO, micro) sit at the center — closest to amenities and foot traffic. This inverts the typical American pattern where density = worse location.
Scale
- ~160 acres is the common real-world target
- ~1/4 mile radius walkshed
- ~1,000 residents at mixed densities
- Supports a corner store/café without it failing; small enough to know your neighbors
CLT Fit
The TND template assumes tenure mix by design — apartment dwellers and single-family owners sharing the same third places. The CLT layer locks that in permanently, preventing the usual New Urbanist failure mode of gradual gentrification into homogeneity.
Housing Continuity
Residents can move through life stages (SRO → micro → family unit) within the same TND cluster — changing unit size without leaving their community, school relationships, or social network. This is a core feature, not a coincidence.
Caveats
- Schools are the wildcard — families will override neighborhood loyalty for school quality; the project needs a credible answer to this
- Village boundaries should stay fuzzy — too crisp and it becomes a gated community dynamic; the goal is overlapping social territory
- Tenure diversity matters — ownership and rental options at multiple scales prevent displacement at life-stage transitions