PAINTING THE TOWN GREEN: CITIES 2.0

About 60 percent of homebuyers who have money for a down payment and can find an affordable house seek the old-fashioned neighborhoods with a new twist: walkable with no cars.

A new $140 million development named “Tempe,” a 1,000-person rental community in Arizona, allows scooters and bikes, but cars will be banned outright. 

The renter lease terms forbids cars to be parked within the community or even in surroundings areas. Spaces previously allocated to parking spots will be designated for retail or communal spaces or rideshare pick-up zones.

TREND FORECAST: Car-free communities will be part of the “Organic City Trend” (Trends Journal, July 2018). Cars are becoming less popular among millennials and boomers, and they would rather walk a short distance to shop than drive a long way. Gas is a recurring expense, and traffic congestion, already jamming up streets and highways, will worsen as populations grow.

Because people are priced out of housing markets in cities, flight to small towns will intensify the “Organic City Trend.”