Stated preference for pedestrian proximity: An assessment of new urbanist sense of community

New urbanist sociospatial reforms, like previous urban planning and design syntheses such as the superblock, rely on the assumption that the physical design of communities results in social sense of community. New urbanism's sense of community relies on developing pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods and assumes that suburbanites are so deprived of physical sense of community that they would gladly trade-off the lot size found in ordinary suburbia for pedestrian proximity to shared neighborhood amenities. Using a consumer-attitude survey of Floridians, this work investigates the likelihood that individuals would exchange a large yard for pedestrian proximity to five community amenities. The analysis finds contradicting evidence for new urbanist assumptions about suburban preferences, but also finds some groups favorably responding to the trade-offs. The paper ends with a discussion of implications of findings and needs for future research.