Reconciling New Urbanist plans: plan quality evaluation for cities in Florida, U.S.

As the popularity of New Urbanism has grown, local governments have attempted to translate New Urbanist planning components into planning policy forms. Through observation of comprehensive plans in 40 cities in Florida, this paper explores the extent to which New Urbanism principles are embedded in terms of factual basis, goals, tools, intergovernmental coordination, and implementation. The outcomes of this study indicate that (1) the total quality of the plans varies by city; (2) local governments are well aware of the importance of New Urbanism; (3) there are weak links between the evaluation categories of factual basis and goals; (4) goals and objectives are addressed most effectively; (5) diversity and equity are relatively less addressed; and (6) proactive tools (e.g. form-based codes, transect zoning, or urban growth boundaries) are limited. The outcomes of this study are expected …