Hilarious video on gated community versus smart growth (+ an extra on 'kayak-oriented development')

OK, this video is really funny.  Due credit to Jeff Speck and Ken Firestone for propagating it around urbanist Facebook circles, and to Andre Spino-Smith and JJ Kinsfather of the Buena Vista, Colorado development South Main, who are credited with putting it together.  Enjoy:

South Main blogger Dustin Urban adds, “If you’re not one of the 10 million people who have watched the iPhone4 vs HTC Evo video on YouTube, you can check it out here for a little context. Be warned! the iPhone video gets an R for language.”  I can confirm.

South Main itself is worth some attention.  Adjacent to Buena Vista’s traditional downtown, the new, walkable neighborhood is founded on, among other things, the developers’ passion for whitewater sports (“a neighborhood designed by kayakers, for kayakers”).  From the website:

“When Jed Selby realized that the 41-acre parcel separating Buena Vista from the Arkansas River was on the market, a plan quickly started to evolve. He contacted his sister Katie and the two began brainstorming about a world-class whitewater park and environmentally friendly development. These two visionaries saw the opportunity to create a design that kept the river corridor open to the public and available to river enthusiasts everywhere. They also saw the potential to create a community designed around getting people out of their cars and talking to their neighbors during their walk to the market, coffee shop or kayak wave. Before them lay an opportunity to bring to life the type of community where people could walk to fulfill all of their daily needs.”

Here’s their video:

Move your cursor over the images for credit information.