I'm staying with my sister and her husband in New Town, Mo., aptly named, as the entire town is brand spanking new, from the row house they live in to the Civic Green to the wine bar up the street. New Town is a planned community built just three years ago outside St. Charles. It should not be confused with tiny Newtown, to the north of us in Sullivan County.
Missourians are well familiar with New Town's builder, Whittaker Homes, by its own account the largest builder in the state. Developer Greg Whittaker based the concept on Seaside, Florida, a New Urbanist community in Florida's panhandle built in 1979. Seaside architectural firm Duany Plater-Zyberk also designed New Town.
These planned communities often get a bad wrap due to the 'Stepford Wives' factor, and indeed, there is a certain idyllic conformism at work here, enforced by codes of conduct. One cannot place a plastic lawn chair on one's own front porch; anything on the exterior of the house must be in keeping with the New Town image: Think wooden rockers, wrought iron benches. One of my sister's neighbors tried to hide her air conditioning unit by a garden screen made from plastic and was told to take it down. Permission must be sought and granted should one desire a simple fence around a row house's city-sized backyard.
But everyone I've talked with so far seems to think abiding by such rules is a small price to pay for the serenity and community that is gained by living in New Town. The developers say that with New Town, they wanted "to build a way of life," not just houses. Fresh off the plane, I was whisked to a party of twentysomethings and thirtysomethings gathered comfortably around the wide bar of a neighbor's open kitchen area, the design of which seemed to encourage conversation. There were two newlyweds, a single woman who works for the Soybean lobby, a former events planner, and a graphic designer. An infant was passed around; a rescue pet's antics were tolerated. All touted New Town's sense of community, foremost: The fact that they'd all found each other here; whereas, in previous neighborhoods, even in St. Louis proper, they'd felt isolated, lonely. Here, someone is always throwing a party; some semblance of the group is always gathering together.
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