Maybe the best little video yet on smart neighborhood-building

California-based architect and co-founder of new urbanism Peter Calthorpe was one of my early inspirations for getting into this field.  Reading Peter's work in the mid-1990s, I felt for the first time that I had a positive vision to advocate as an alternative to sprawl. 

Among his substantial contributions to sustainability, I'm not sure if Peter coined the phrase "transit-oriented development," but he certainly popularized it.  I mention that because this awesome little video in which Peter appears purports to be about Portland and TOD.  But, really, I think the title is misleading: it isn't so much about TOD as about the elements of a complete, walkable neighborhood, whether or not it is also transit-oriented.  And, although the photography happens to show Portland, the narrative doesn't (and needn't) mention any particular location.  This is about simply about good neighborhood-building, period.  Enjoy:

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