New Urbanism Lives

Is this how far we have sunk? A “journalist” tells us about reality with a fictional movie as his main source? (“ ‘Truman’ Suburbs Too Good to Be True,” June 28).

If Brad Inman had only invested his two hours of moviegoing in reading a book (the last half of James Howard Knustler’s “The Geography of Nowhere”) or some kind of research based in reality, he would have found the new urbanism movement to be a reasonable, intelligent alternative to the gross urban sprawl we now call home.

At its core, new urbanism advocates building communities for people for rather than cars. It promotes mixed-use (commercial/residential) zoning, pedestrianism and creation of affordable housing. Although not nirvana, neo-traditional planning offers such an improvement over our isolated, economically stratified, uninspired urban areas.

Inman’s news of its demise is a disservice to the reading public. To delegate investigation of such an important issue to the realm of Hollywood fiction is a sad, sad commentary on the current state of journalism.

ROD DAMER

Studio City