What form is taken by the architecture and planning movement known as the New Urbanism in Scotland? To answer this, and offer an original contribution to knowledge, the thesis takes as its starting point a survey of New Urbanism and moves to connect it to how New Urbanism is understood and practised in contemporary Scottish urbanism. In it, I argue that New Urbanism does not pay attention to the complexities of the recent spatial-social history of places and adds to the semantic confusion of new places generally. The thesis is a historical-spatial study concerned with the transfer of knowledge between New Urbanist theories and practice and how they have been received and reconfigured transnationally. The thesis is organised into four parts. It begins with a literature review that is a metahistoric account of the movement paying close attention to the symbiotic relationship of the U.S. and Anglo-European procedures and charting the theoretical basis and key figures, events and canonical developments. The scale narrows its focus throughout the thesis in a linear fashion, moving in chapter three to a close reading and review of Scottish governmental policy documents and associated literature produced since 2001. The aim here is to chart patterns in the official approaches that illuminate a tendency towards the New Urbanist procedure. I posit that government support for New Urbanism demonstrates an institutional preference for growth over social equity. I argue that the emergent New Urbanism in Scotland is representative of a perceived lack of community aligned with the privileging of upper middle-class tastes and lifestyles which are held as the dominant representation of cultural life (S. Zukin, 2009). Simultaneously, a move towards neo-traditional planning and architecture is also a politically sanctioned strategy for economic growth that prioritises growth in housing over environmental or ecological sustainability. Two site studies document the emerging New Urbanism in Scotland by analysing two different approaches. The site studies deal with one built example and one masterplan located in Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire respectively. Separated into two sections they can be read as comparative studies which account for two distinct manifestations of Scottish New Urbanism; a modified Anglo-European version promoted by the Prince’s Foundation for Building Community and an ‘imported’ US version typically led by established urban designers DPZ (or Urban Design Associates), with both broadly receiving government support. The purpose of the research is to contribute to a better understanding of the movement’s origins and subsequent recontextualisation in a specifically Scottish condition. This is arguably relevant not only to contemporary Scottish urbanism but to general scholarship on the organisation and politics of space.

Contemporary urban planning for the past decades has concentrated on sustainable development, for instance through the promotion of dense development (Echenique et al., 2012). Important components for sustainable urban development concerns increasing residential and building density, as means of counteracting the consequences of urban sprawl (Jenks and Jones, 2008). Because it is argued that high-residential density is more economically, environmentally and socially sustainable than low-density since a higher concentration of people contributes to for instance shorter transportation distances as well as makes services and amenities more economically viable  (Frey, 1999; Haughton and Hunter, 2004). However, whether the densification of cities has desirable or undesirable social, economic and ecological impacts is highly contested. The purpose of this study is to analyze the socioeconomic outcomes of the urban densification process in the Lundby District, Gothenburg, over time. Through a mixed method approach, statistical information for Lundby District, for the years 2008 to 2015 have been processed and two semi-structured interviews with employees in the City Planning Authority and Lundby District Administration were conducted. The densification in Lundby presents certain strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. As more than 6300 new housing units has been constructed during this time-period, and more is to come in the near future, Lundby experienced a repopulation as the housing construction has facilitate a population increase of more than 11 000 new inhabitants. However, as the favored tenure developed during this time-period been condominiums certain weaknesses exist. Nonetheless, densification and the rapid increase in population has contributed to the number of vehicle per 100 inhabitants decreasing, which presents opportunities for being more environmentally friendly. On the other hand the claim that through densification could diversity and social mixing be achieved is flawed, as seen in Lundby the densification process has brought changes in population structure and socioeconomic characteristics, which suggest some form of gentrification is occurring.

Low-density residential development patterns in New England have resulted in the excessive loss of farms, forests and other open spaces and increased automobile dependence. Coupled with increasingly high land costs, sprawl has contributed towards an affordable housing crisis in Massachusetts. The need for sustainable development (such as new urbanism and smart growth) has been increasingly recognized, yet efforts have been hampered, in part, due to apathy and local residents’ resistance towards increasing residential densities, resulting in limited choices for willing homebuyers. This study examines perceptions of residential neighborhoods and sustainable development among residents in Hopkinton and Southborough, Massachusetts; two communities with rural and suburban character located in the rapidly growing metropolitan Boston region. A photo-based survey sent through the mail asked respondents to rate scenes of innovative residential settings and to answer questions about their attitudes towards environmental issues, planning approaches and neighborhood preferences, their current residential setting and demographic characteristics. The results from 253 survey respondents showed three important themes: (1) that residents expressed strong environmental values yet many lacked awareness of the environmental impacts of low density housing, (2) strong preference for views of nature and open spaces was prevalent and (3) visual design variables can dramatically influence perceived density. Key findings indicate two sub-groups. Approximately one-third of the respondents strongly support denser, sustainable development alternatives and value neighborhood planning that reduces auto dependency, meets the needs of households with various incomes and protects open space. While, the other two-thirds of the sample favor calm, scenic, low density neighborhoods and would like to see their community preserve its open spaces and maintain its historic and rural aesthetic. The study concludes with recommendations for regionally appropriate approaches to sustainable development that take into account the multiple scales and stakeholder involvement.

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Research on public support for green building has, to date, been incomplete. Understanding the demographics of individuals that support green building has remained secondary to merely determining real opinions on the topic. The identity of supporters and the motivation behind their support is the focus of this research. Specifically, is support for green building dependent on the way in which the issue is framed? This research aims to focus on those that are spreading the message about green building, industry experts, and the mass public. By exposing how green building experts talk about the issue, we may begin to understand why public support for green building has yet to reach the kind of mainstream acceptance other planning and design techniques have,such as New Urbanism. I predict that green building experts perceived low levels of public awareness, with the exception of those within the Northwest region, which I believ will perceive higher levels of awareness. In addition, I assume that industry experts will be most focused on energy efficiency as a primary concept of green building. As for the public, I hypothesize that those aware of green building and individuals age 50 and older will be more likely to support green building. With the introduction of source cues, I expect that support for green building will decrease when respondents received either an environmentalism cue or a government program cue. Using survey instruments, I was able to determine that all green building experts perceive public awareness as low and do, in fact, focus their efforts on energy efficiency. With regards to the public, support was highest among those that are aware, as well as those age 50 and older. In addition, insertion of source cues decreased support for green building, with the government program source cue providing the lowest levels of support for green building.

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