Does new urbanist neighborhood design affect neighborhood turnover?

Abstract

This paper explores the extent to which new urbanist principles (e.g., compactness, mixed use, street connectivity, and open space) influenced neighborhood residential turnover in Austin, Texas, from 2009 to 2011, with a focus on micro-scale-level neighborhoods. The results of this study indicate that new urbanism principles play unique roles in turnover, most of which appear to be positive in increasing turnover, except the sidewalk and proximity to a lake. In summary, residents currently tend to reside longer in a neighborhood with typical suburban neighborhood designs, not new urbanist. Among the design principles of interest in this study, proximity to a lake proves to be the most powerful predictor, followed by distance to the CBD and dwelling density. As natural features such as lakes or hills are given conditions that are less likely to be altered by humans, we conclude that turnover tends to be sensitive to "compactness." Thus, planners are urged to carefully consider the issue of "compactness" to successfully create stable neighborhoods.