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I used to live in a standard beige suburban subdivision. I lived there for 4 years and knew none of my neighbors, although I recognized which car belonged to which house because that's all I ever saw--cars. Cars driving out in the morning, cars driving back in at night. If people were outside, they were in their backyards, and who could blame them really, you couldn't walk to anything except another dead end cul-de-sac dotted with nearly identical homes. It was miserable and lonely, but I didn't realize fully why until we moved to a new urbanist neighborhood designed to be walkable and to promote interaction among neighbors.
My neighborhood is pedestrian oriented, filled with pocket parks, every home has a porch, and many shops, restaurants, and services are in easy walking distance. This means people are always outside walking, which means they meet their neighbors. I know every neighbor not just on my street, on EVERY street. We have social events--organized and casual-- constantly. I am never bored and never lonely. I always have someone (actually a list of around at least 30 of my neighbors) to call to water my plants and watch my house when I'm away. There is a true sense of community here unlike anything else in my experience and I never plan on leaving. I don't live in a tiny condo either (not that there's anything wrong with that), I live in a 2500 sq foot single family home in a pedestrian neighborhood within suburbia. And I'm a gardener. A big one. Although my lot is only 4500 sq feet, you would be amazed what fits.
Take it from someone who's actually in a position to know: New Urbanism works.
