Across the United States, efforts are underway to create more socially enriching and sustainable urban communities. Often grouped under the category of new urbanist communities, these developments have been heralded by some as models upon which a fundamentally new form of American urbanization can be based. Other analysts dismiss new urbanist projects on the assumption that their physical design and social objectives deviate too significantly from established consumer preferences. In the face of this often polarized debate, few empirical studies have been conducted to evaluate the ground-level outcomes of specific new urbanist communities.

The study that follows is part of a small but growing number of analyses designed to empirically evaluate the achievements of new urbanist developments. This study is based on a house-level survey of residents in Orenco Station, a new urbanist development in western Portland, Oregon. Similar surveys were also conducted in two more traditional neighborhoods, one in Northeast Portland and one in Southwest Portland, and so comparisons can be made across the communities. Through this comparative approach, it is possible to evaluate the current outcomes of this new urbanist project on a variety of dimensions. Key issues that are explored include the following: Has the Orenco Station project succeeded in fostering a sense of community for its residents? How have residents responded to living in a higher density situation? And, of particular importance from an environmental perspective, have Orenco Station residents reduced their reliance on automobiles since moving into the community?

My research demonstrates that Orenco Station has succeeded in fostering an unusually high level of social cohesion within the community. Moreover, the extremely high satisfaction ratings given by Orenco residents to their community’s physical design suggests that highdensity, multi-use developments are quite capable of competing in a market place dominated by more traditional, diffuse suburban neighborhoods. While changes in commuting habits by Orenco Station residents have been less dramatic, my data does indicate that there has been an increase in local pedestrian-based consumption and the use of mass transit by residents of the neighborhood. Overall, this study lends support to the assertion that new urbanist communities can foster more socially and environmentally sustainable lifestyles within American cities.