A Car-Free Neighborhood in an Old New Jersey Town

[@zoid88]

when I saw m² I was thinking wow thats a lot of people to fit in to a square meter...

[@crazy808ish]

Agreed. While it's no problem if if you think it through for a sec, mi² would have been a better choice with zero confusion.

[@timderks5960]

@@crazy808ish Well... there is no choice. An m stands for meter, mi stands for mile. While I agree that it's not a big issue, we all know what he meant, it's still wrong. Also, due to the fact that Americans use commas and periods in numbers the other way round from the vast majority of the world, to me it looked like the text on screen was saying there were almost 4 people per square meter, instead of almost 4000 per square mile, which at least made it more reasonable. Four per m² is a lot, but 4000 is an obvious error.

[@tiagodb]

I think he confused square meter with square kilometer. It is like saying that one square foot is equal to one square mile.

[@justthatguy9946]

@@timderks5960 I wouldn't say the "vast majority" of the world uses commas as decimal separators. Looks pretty evenly split amongst the world population, and the ISO has stopped specifying the correct notation. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimal_separator#/media/File:DecimalSeparator.svg

[@rhoddryice5412]

I read it as 3.9 /m^2

[@NotJustBikes]

This was quite interesting, thanks! This suburb is really nice! I'm working on a somewhat similar video about suburbs that don't suck. I plan to use Riverdale, in Toronto, as my example. I wish stuff like this was still legal to build.

[@alanthefisher]

thanks! I'm going to eventually do videos on Burlington, NJ and Radburn NJ. Burlington being an old colonial town and Radburn being one of the first planned suburbs for cars. I look forward to your video too!

[@WhatAGuy]

NJB and Alan Fisher collab. m a k e i t h a p p e n . plz.

[@SP1CEANDW0LF]

@@alanthefisher Love the revitalization that Burlington is getting, spent a lot of time there last summer. Can't wait for the video.

[@twowheelvalle]

Hey 🙋🏻‍♂️😂

[@benduncan4027]

Came here cause he recommended me so.

[@adrianperez8695]

"Mostly a bunch of suburbs larping as a city" is one of those phrases that cheekily summarizes something which I've been trying to wrestle with since I started thinking about cities. Thank you for this phrase.

[@CarlosIsDown]

Pretty sick burn, imo

[@locsoluv94]

Lol like Woodbury, NJ.

[@ShortVideosRUs]

I visited San Antonio a little while ago, and this phrase perfectly encapsulates my thoughts on the city. There was an urban core that was maybe about a third of the size of Manhattan in land area, with the rest being miles and miles of endless suburban sprawl, strip malls, and interstates in all directions. While Downtown San Antonio was very nice, walkable, and had unique character, I was shocked to hear that this city was home to 2.5 million people--as the actual urban part felt as though it could support a population of 100,000 at best. The downtown is completely segregated from the rest of the "city" by interstates forming a loop around it as well, really driving home the feeling of disjointedness.

[@quanbrooklynkid7776]

Damn

[@quanbrooklynkid7776]

@@locsoluv94 that's you in your profile picture

[@arvispinkletter5324]

"Mixed-use" is always a key thing. Destinations within walking distance!

[@spritemon98]

If I'm correct that means commercial and residential in the same area yeah?

[@marcelh7864]

@@spritemon98 Yes. I'm from Europe and hadn't even heard about the term before listening to urban planning in the US and Canada. Having commercial and residential places in the same area makes the places you live at way more interesting and lively. Casually walking to the restaurant down the street or the supermarket two roads further feels so normal that it didn't even cross my mind that you would do it any other way.

[@LouisSubearth]

@@marcelh7864 Mixed use is the default outside of North America.

[@bruhbutwhytho]

​@@LouisSubearthexcept for Australia and New Zealand as well as the gulf States.

[@KieraCameron514]

@@marcelh7864 Believe it or not, that was one time very common in the U.S.

[@ngor1]

"A bunch of suburbs larping as a city" is the most accurate description of Houston I've heard. No zoning here yet it's illegal to build a store without 20 parking spaces in front. Subscribed!

[@compdude100]

Same can be said about much of LA.

[@DonTako47]

Without a doubt

[@tiffany1869]

Okay this is the cutest yet coolest thing I've seen in NJ, I wish we did this more everywhere and the houses are so aesthetically pleasing so it's a win-win

[@the.abhiram.r]

many towns are improving on this. a lot of mixed use development is getting built near where i live, including especially in monroe and robinsville

[@uzin0s256]

@@the.abhiram.rlast time i went to monroe was in 2021 to visit my brother. GODDAM it was so car dependent. Im from Edison(oak tree) and its a lot more walkable. I miss NJ badly. The entire state is so walkable

[@flyphone1072]

​@@the.abhiram.r Robbinsville is a hellhole

[@sethsoarenson7414]

What suburbanites don't get and what I was surprised to discover living in the city is: I don't have errands. Like, everything is within a 15 minute walk or on my way to work. I go out because it's a beautiful day and I might pick up a bag of groceries, or visit the barber, library, or post office. I do these things almost accidentally.

[@compdude100]

Yeah, you can't be spontaneous when driving; things have to be planned more.

[@deaddevil7]

@@compdude100 i must be living wrong because I am able to do all of that in a suburb without planning. Oh wait, I forgot that I'm in an echo chamber that hates low density suburbs. The heresy!

[@mishaf19]

@@deaddevil7 you’d be in the minority that’s for certain. I live in the suburb and without a car what the man described up there is impossible.

[@MaddiePlushie]

@@deaddevil7 The radical urbanist echo chamber is real. These people are crazy man. These fuckers just want to ban cars. I also live in a suburb where you can bike and walk to the nearest grocery store or anywhere you need to go. But hey, all Suburbs are car-only hellholes right?

[@nabagaca]

@@deaddevil7 idk what suburb you live in, but in the one I grew up in there was no commercial stores, and the nearest stores were in the town centre which was a 5km walk away on a road with no sidewalk that required me to walk on the clearway next to the road. I remember as a kid I tried to do the walk a few times to get to school and I had bus drivers and people stopping on the side of the road asking me if I wanted a lift because they thought it was odd and dangerous (and it probably was a bit). I'm not sure how you spontaneously (being the key word) do those things when it requires a 50 minute walk (or 5 minute drive) into the town centre where you have no other reason to be there other than to do those tasks.

[@al-du6lb]

One of the most important things is allowing a place to change. Most suburbs are built to the finished state and are not allowed to evolve over time.

[@charlesrodriguez7984]

Yes. Definitely. Can’t change what’s already built but you can change what’s being built new.

[@patrickschmal9918]

I know I'm 4 years late lol but I go to school in Glassboro, the town south of Pitman, and I regularly spend my weekends in Pitman! It's an amazing town and is one of the reasons why I'm looking to become an urban planner/transit designer! I knew the town had rail service but had no idea their rail service was actually electrified! Thank you for making another amazing video!

[@CM-tu5wo]

during my undergrad in urban planning, being from Philly and doing school in the midwest, I constantly thought to myself how this issue of creating density was already dealt with in the past and that we already know an appropriate model for urbanism. I appreciate that you pointed out the value that these small dense cities have as part of a solution to the present sprawl.

[@nicolescats2]

This would realistically have transit links headed towards a larger denser area containing taller buildings and a downtown area for people that wanted that level of density. The streetcar (or train) suburbs would be for people who wanted a bit more space and who wanted to be part of a smaller community. What's important is that people are able to find a sense of belonging somewhere, and acknowledge that people have different preferences around their ideal community size.

[@JayBrown-xs9ps]

@Alessandro Salvino I'm also curious about this and have been looking into it too, but as another urban planning layman like you. When you talked about one plan ending up as only a series of connected neighborhoods rather than a city, it reminded me of how people describe Chicago and that is one thing that sort of bothers me about the idea of moving there with that possible sense of disconnectedness and all. A good thing for you to look into might be a thing called "20 Minute Neighborhoods" and also KZbin channels Not Just Bikes and Strong Towns reviews on good American cities.

[@stevenwilgus5422]

I am very familiar with Pitman. It is great to have witnessed the gentrification of the Grove. I'm sure the original owners and builders would be surprised that their lovely vison is now considered a potential model for the greater society-- not to mention how much equity has been built in heir project. (Well Done!)

[@erikkrauss8481]

Calgary is a good example of bad density. The houses are pretty dense but the nearest store is still a strip mall 3 miles away

[@coastaku1954]

@@DC-ek6ib How is it boring?

[@krunkle5136]

That sounds like torture. Makes one wonder what zoning was intended to benefit.

[@coastaku1954]

@@krunkle5136 You just drive there, simple as that. Sure it would be nice if everything was walkable, but driving is fine, I love driving

[@krunkle5136]

@@coastaku1954 parking, car insurance, loans, the effect of everyone being in their car and no one on the sidewalk. Compared to the experience in European cities, this isn't ideal at all. It's very easy to be buried in the status quo.

[@coastaku1954]

@@krunkle5136 Parking is easy and free at supermarkets, Insurance is apocalyptically high in the GTA where I live, loans do suck but I’d rather just save up for a car, and there will still be people walking, I drive most places, but I do walk to my local gas station for snacks, and I walk to my local bus stop which has pretty good frequency and 2 good routes that go cross town

[@finnk1289]

"Most of our problems that we face nowadays like housing shortages wealth inequality and climate change can be battled by changing urban and suburban landscapes now, instead of waiting for the fictional future where computers and gadgets are supposed to save us."

[@Orinslayer]

Actual Machines instead of Fucking Magic.

[@kody1654]

@Aquarium Gravel Its so true. Everyone's complaining about no one doing anything and how no one wants to work, when the real solution could be for governments to get serious and create well paying jobs programs and get some shovels in the ground and frames erected into the sky.

[@johncounts2182]

@@kody1654 I'd be very weary of economic fascism as the solution. free markets are the way to go here; remove government zoning regulations and people will naturally, without coercive taxes funding it, congregate the suburbs into a more efficient arrangement. but the first bit is to educate people on the ills of socialism in all forms, and educate people on the crony state system and how it works. (basically how we get the laws we get, who 'greases the wheels' for them, and why)

[@scout360pyroz]

@@johncounts2182 in all forms? socialism is merely an organizational tool. we use it for our emergency services. the free market has advantages, but sometimes issues emerge that dont nicely fit into its system, and some things were never suited for it. over reliance on a tool can be its own problem, and the more notable socialist systems are a great example of that. (use socialism for everything, economy tanks)

[@johncounts2182]

@@scout360pyroz it's the only organizational tool that has killed hundreds of millions of people in the last 100 years alone. it's also the only organizational tool that has an inversely proportional effect on human wellbeing. you are correct that we use it for our emergency services, and I would say it is not a mere coincidence that our emergency services suck; they're too expensive when you see any bill directly, they take too long, the security service kills people it was meant to protect, the medical service has cronies in charge of planning how much competition they have in the area, the only one I can't think of ways it's been corrupted is fire fighting, which is not socialized universally, but is supported in most or in part by charity, an open market function. the more freedom a human system has, invariably, the better. socialism is a complete failure, unless you look at it through the lens in which it was initially conceived, which is a system to subjugate the many in enslavement to the few, in which case it is then and only then a resounding success.

[@CoryMonteleoneHaught]

Pitmanite here! Love this video. I really only use my car to leave town and I really agree that modern car-dependent suburbs also don't have the same sense of community that is formed when you know everyone walking by and walking uptown.

[@emmyburr1018]

Pitmanites unite

[@kennylauderdale_en]

Comfy Time.

[@vaiyaktikasolarbeam1906]

WTF it is you!! Never thought meeting you here!

[@mokuu3313]

L o l

[@garlandstrife]

every video I see has a comment from this guy

[@harshitgupta6856]

This channel is criminally underrated

[@bartlett2335]

not really, he's just a chauvinist who thinks property owners shouldn't choose to live on larger lots.

[@harshitgupta6856]

​@@bartlett2335 okay but train memes

[@harshitgupta6856]

@@bartlett2335 also this comment is from when he was at ~500 subs

[@AlexGFrank]

it's criminally OVERrated just like many other urban planning channels. And, frankly, the author is a moron who doesn't even remotely understand the basics of human psychology regarding property. Again, just like other channels about city planning.

[@dog-ez2nu]

I'm studying hard sciences at undergrad level and have assessments to do, BUT I LOVE ME SOME URBAN PLANNING HOT DIGGITY DAMN

[@mdhazeldine]

That's a very cute little town. Very un-American. Love the no-car roads.

[@paxundpeace9970]

Are you related to the actor Hazeldine in the UK?

[@paxundpeace9970]

@@korbermeister1 You wrote this to the wrong person.

[@korbermeister1]

@@paxundpeace9970 All Apologies

[@korbermeister1]

you have a very narrow view of what American is, if you think that town is ‘very unamerican’. Nothing in that town looks unamerican. The homes, the streets, the commercial building look typically American. I suggest you get out more

[@paxundpeace9970]

@@korbermeister1 you are welcome

[@dontebronaugh]

Me a stupid Rutgers alum: man the beginning of this video looks so familiar

[@Rickyrab]

But the Rutgers Student Center and College Avenue Gym? Oh sure, pick the modernist end of campus 🤣

[@CarlLevitt]

*Sees Brower Commons, sweats*

[@RichardKlancer]

I noticed the 2 way bike lane on College Ave, and what was that red striped thing In front of the gym, a bus lane?

[@khecht908]

I'm a realtor working in the Camden, Burlington, and Gloucester County areas of NJ, and I could not fail to disagree with you less! Your description of the failure of Cherry Hill to have any sort of real downtown, and the esthetic and lifestyle difference compared with a lovely little town like Pitman was spot on. I hope you find your way into the urban planning of NJ in this area one day - we need voices like yours!

[@bubskebulba1127]

Great vid and I love the use of Vulfpeck instrumentals for backing tracks

[@marcelmoulin3335]

Thank you for this informative, elucidating video. Having grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the '60s and '70s, I know all too well how depressing, forbidding, and off-putting suburbia can be. I left in the '80s to work in the UK. I now live in the fatherland in glorious, compact Middelburg. I no longer drive; I walk and cycle a lot. Periodically, I take the train to other parts of the country. Although the Dutch have also embraced the auto and emulated some of the worst American planning practices, they have reclaimed their city centres where one can delight in the shops, cafés, restaurants, museums, and pedestrian zones without ubiquitous traffic. For anyone keen about city planning and transport, visiting the Netherlands is requisite.

[@TAP7a]

Disconnection of culture is a massive point that doesn't get made enough

[@jdamqueen]

Why would someone give a damn about culture of their town

[@ianhomerpura8937]

@@jdamqueen the food is one. Many towns have sumptuous cuisines unique to their area. Japan highlights this by offering local delicacies in their respective railway stations, especially in rural areas.

[@Alexlfm]

It’s amazing how much better suburbs are that were created by the railroad compared to the car. My small town (created by both a railroad intersection and the end of the suburban trolly line) has an incredibly high density as well (over 4000/sq mi) and is an fantastic place to live with a vibrant downtown and cultural scene. The neighboring community which grew after WW2 is a suburban hell scape. The greatest irony perhaps is that it’s a suburb of Detroit and a large number of the inhabitants are engineers for the big 3 and their suppliers. Don’t crap where you eat comes to mind…

[@synthiandrakon]

the funny thing about this, is a town this dense is what actually gives the small town feel that people are seeking when they say they like suburbs. Although we often apply it to big cities, the dense mixed use city planning were advocating for is pretty much exactly what these old small towns had. It's easier to have a sense of community when there is a a gathering place everyone in the neighborhood can walk to. when you've got a little commercial Street within walking distance, that's where you get the convenience store where everyone in town knows the owner, that's where you get the diner/cafe that everyone meets up at. and in regards to density it's way easier to get to know your neighbors when houses are physically closer, in an American suburb anything beyond your nextdoor neighbor is getting close to 100m down the road.

[@tommyw.9424]

I could never live in the city because I'm a farmer. I need space because I'm gonna use it, God dammit. And I do agree that suburbs are often quite wasteful, a bunch of super spread out houses that are all the same anyway just to waste good farm ground because Bill Boxticker wants to larp as a hay farmer and push a mower around. Also the generalization of Cincinnati being a bunch of suburbs larping as a city is pretty accurate, as much as I do love the west side.

[@alanthefisher]

haha I love that last sentence, but don't worry I'm doing a video eventually on farm towns. Not every town can be a city, but every town deserves good planning

[@evan]

I grew up going to church in Pitman! Suuuuuch a tiny lil town

[@mindlessdillan]

I recall watching this video as an introduction to your channel a handful of years ago and I was so captivated by your presentation and well researched information! After this one, I watched another, and another, and another and soon enough I found myself paying more and more attention to the walk-ability of certain areas. Urban planning and zoning laws caught my eye as well. I lost your channel for a few years, but recently this video popped back up in my mind and I'm so glad to have come across your channel! Without you, I may never have learned about all this, and a cherry on top I'm from NJ originally! Burlington County! Pitman reminds me of Burlington City, You wouldn't need a car in that city except for work commuting and grocery getting! Thank you so much for taking the time to share and present this to us all!

[@mcmigs1725]

I’ve been saying this for years. “Micro cities” outside of major metros connected with mass transportation. Route 1 corridor NE D.C is a good example of great potential: college park, Riverdale park, hyattsville, Brentwood/Mount Rainier. Fingers crossed for a light rail-type line to go right up route 1 (there used to be an old street car line that was repurposed as a bike path).

[@rossedwardmiller]

I’m also a fan of PG county. DC has good public transit too so these places can be viable for living in while working in the city and never needing a car for daily life. Baltimore has several dense towns very close, but the lack of any viable public transit means they’re all car dependent. I will say, the more I learn, the more I’m ready to just give up on MD and move to Chicago

[@johnken0]

Let’s hope that the Purple Line finishes soon and spurs more transit projects

[@danachos]

Bit jarring to hear Vulfpeck in honestly the most lovely of ways! I adore the sound, and I adore the channel, and I think you adding a soundscape to your videos is awesome! Keep it up, and great taste in music! :p

[@penguino8185]

Personally I assume that these housing shortages could be resolved by renovating abandoned buildings like in Camden instead of bulldozing forests and building over wetlands which cause things like hurricane ida to be so costly around where I live

[@Snj_productions9000]

It is very honored having you film a video in my hometown. And now just finding out that you lived in my town and you being my favourite youtuber is mind blowing.

[@piccolo917]

kinda interesting that this is labeled high density. I live in a fairly dense Dutch town that has 20.000+ people/square mile, yet it doesn't feel gigantic or overcrowded or something.

[@moonmelons]

Edit: actually after thinking about it, it makes some sense. Big cities feel denser than they are because they funnel tons of people into specific areas. And also gets affected quite a bit by how much unlivable land the city has in it as that artificially decreases population density even though the city becomes no less dense. American towns usually take up a lot more space than they need so even with massive populations all that extra space that nobody's living on affects the population density stat

[@heatherh.755]

Well done! I also grew up in Pitman -- wonderful little town. Thank you for creating and sharing this.

[@stew8684]

ahhh as a rutgers urban planning minor obsessed w walkability public transit and nj history ur channel was literally made for me i cant believe i just found out abt you today

[@imanethe1175]

I love this place !! I am from an european suburban town with both social housing and small homes like these, the towns here in the suburbs are all built around train stations. We have several even, in each small suburban town. It links to the city in 30 minutes and everyone takes it to go to work. And I totally agree with you about generational culture, the fams here are the same since at least the 70s, everyone knows each other, there's a great sense of community ! I have also lived in two different sets of suburban towns close to other big cities during my studies that organise around long centuries old tram lines.I had never heard of such a place in the US. Sad. I wish you all still built this types of places, it would be so interesting and enjoyable.

[@ojay255]

This video is so cool! I grew up in a similar town called Collingwood in South Jersey. We got to have the patco run through the center and it was good for biking and walking.

[@dlwatib]

I was very happy with the size and population density of Imperial Beach, CA when I lived there. The density is 6,353 people per square mile. It's not a perfect town by any means, but the density is about right. I like that it has alleys. They're good for walking, biking and skateboarding. The thing is, Imperial Beach achieved its density without taking away anyone's access to a car. It's as car-centric as any other city in California. It just happens to have a lot of "mother-in-law" quarters facing the alleys and low rise apartments and condos.

[@selflesssamaritan6417]

Feet dependent urban planning for the win!

[@MartinKelley]

Nice to see Pitman highlighted! I've been going there more-or-less weekly for years because my teenage son is involved in the Hobo Band. I've often marveled at the pedestrian traffic along the main street on Thursdays and the variety of third-space independent shops (though RIP the always-busy game store). The Grove is a charming area to walk around but other places-the library, the Sunset Auditorium, Alcyon Park-are all within a few, very walkable blocks on one another.

[@leeball4]

I grew up in Washington Twp, went to Rowan University and had many friends in Pitman. I can still hear my driver's ed. teacher preaching about the dangers of driving in downtown Pitman with all the parallel parked cars and their doors flying open into traffic, lol. I live in Collingswood, NJ now, in part because of it's similarities to Pitman. It's also crazy to me to think that Lake Alcyon is once again a safe place to visit. Growing up that lake was always a source of mystery and urban legend as the most toxic lake in the world. Yay for Superfund projects!

[@jahwingding3711]

a great, easy to digest video with vulfpeck as background music is probably the best thing i've watched in a while. great job!

[@arnomrnym6329]

Pitman looks snuggy. The US/Canada should have more places like that. Greetings from Berlin. 🇩🇪

[@korbermeister1]

The US has thousands of places like that, it’s just that those towns weren’t expanded as-is after WWII and during the baby boom. The town’s surrounding forest and farmland were sold, given over to developers who built simple little homes in the late 40s & 50s, the first being Levittown which were wildly popular and profitable. These became the modern US suburb. Unfortunately, the original town couldn’t compete with the new suburb in space, convenience, safety and many declined

[@potatopotatow]

There’s a lot of small towns like this, even just in southern Jersey. A lot of them are also trying to revitalize their downtowns to make them more walkable and pedestrian friendly.

[@racerman7303]

@@potatopotatow can you tell me what towns are like this? I would like to to see as well . I live in a suburb that isn’t very walkable and I need a car for everything ,

[@williamhuang8309]

Comfy, snuggly

[@williamhuang8309]

@@racerman7303 Just look on Alan's list of suburbs

[@kyloremgaming1338]

I grew up in Glassboro and I lived in Pitman for many years too! So shocked that this popped up on my recommendations!

[@TiAndSisters]

Same!!! This is so fascinating!!!

[@kyloremgaming1338]

@@TiAndSisters did you graduate from Glassboro?

[@Calizen]

You have managed to convince a normie who lives in the San Fernando suburbs of L.A that more compact cities and less car dependency is way more better than the opposite. Great video 😊👍

[@toolsteel8482]

I love this little town and the appealing houses. And I like the flowers and bushes and etc. I don’t see much lawn either just pretty flowers and plants. It’s all very appealing. I hope the diesel multiple unit trains are soon implemented.

[@truckrobo147]

I'd absolutely love to have something like this in Florida where there's souless mass produced suburbs being built in small empty lots of land

[@Stopbeingshallow]

I lived in Pitman for a few years in the late 80’s. Such a great town.

[@Rickyrab]

*sees Rutgers College Avenue Campus in opening shots* Me: Wow I actually recognize those buildings

[@matthewbongiorno6678]

I was about to say haha

[@darthszarych5588]

Me too

[@mrpeel3239]

Never heard of this place. Thank you!

[@melvenorc12]

I love the part at 8:25 where you pan away from the parking lot on the left XD.

[@matthewraden5210]

Pitman! I live in Cherry Hill and had no idea about Pitman, other than hearing the name. I would have liked to have seen more of the downtown.

[@Toefoo100]

"before there were zoning laws" I remember seeing a video from an urban planner channel (can't remember which) on the topic of Tokyo where he almost seemed mad at the success of the city because of how dense and vast it was, since it had so few zoning laws and very little urban planning. Could the best way to build a dense city is just to leave it alone to grow naturally? It seems absurd from a resource perspective that a suburban house can be cheaper to live in even when include the cost of driving/commuting compared to an apartment. There must be hidden subsidies everywhere in suburbs or excessive taxes placed on cities that is creating a very inefficient system of massive highways, ugly soulless suburbs, and city folk that have no money Not to necessarily to trash on all urban planners but there also seems to be an incentive among urban planners to create all these rules and top down control through city plans just to ensure they still have a job or the more likely case of all bureaucrats, the ability to decide peoples fate. Sorry for the rant but I'm just so perplexed by the divide between cities and suburbs. Though I am just a country bumkin that lives more than an hour from the nearest city and I can't even see my neighbors. I just like the architecture of cities (B1M fan) and hate the chipwood mess of those super cheap burb houses

[@delcogoblin]

This is the same reason I love the immediate outskirts of Philadelphia. Not all of them have the ideal design, but a lot of them have narrow grid streets, parks, amenities in walking distance, and even distinct downtowns. Most of them are barely even a mile across. Prospect Park, Norwood, the row-home part of Ridley Park (you can walk to the Prospect Park downtown through the apartment complex), and especially Media. They even have trolleys, regional rail and Amtrak connections you can walk to. Of course, because we haven't solved the car problem yet, traffic is heavy regardless. These aren't in the middle of nowhere, so there's a lot of thoroughfare and some big roads like Chester Pike and Baltimore Pike cutting through.

[@curiousoli]

Wow this town is beautiful. I live in Montreal and this place is definitely on my bucket list of places to visit next time I cross the border

[@emmyburr1018]

If you ever come to pitman, I recommend getting ice cream from Alaura kitchen

[@PlasticCyborg]

I would advise you to come visit Perkasie PA. A town built way before the automobile, which means we have plenty dense mixed use buildings with great walkability. With a population of over 9,129 and at 2.56 square miles, we have a population density of approximately 3,566 per square mile. Great walkability, lots of people biking here. Only really big downside is that all public transportation has been eliminated. The SEPTA regional rail no longer goes here from Lansdale as of 1982, and the Liberty Bell trolley is also no longer running as of 1951. However, you can still find both the train and trolley stations in town. Shame they're gone. They could be so beneficial if they still ran today.

[@CityWhisperer]

That’s a lovely place to live in. We should really boost the construction of such towns.

[@GrumblyCoyote]

There's a car-free neighborhood in Tempe Arizona called Culdesac that's currently under construction. I heard they will be building another one in Atlanta Georgia. It's really nice that some urban planners are starting to finally get the message about terrible car infrastructure and poor land use. I hope that he will make a video about it in the near future. Thx

[@ianhomerpura8937]

It's located right beside a stop on the Phoenix Light Rail. Within a ten minute bike ride from the nearest schools as well. That's Tempe for you. Meanwhile, Scottsdale and Gilbert are absolutely going full NIMBY and are rejecting light rail altogether

[@ashleyhamman]

That is such a peculiar and quaint town! I'm on the west coast, so we don't have much in the way of examples like this or even row-houses, so I often have to refer to abroad to describe density done well. On the bit about park and rides, I agree about them being a band-aid fix, but I still think they can serve some utility. I've talked with people who live in small rural towns, and I think park-and-rides should be advertised as a way for out-of-town drivers to experience the city without worrying about downtown parking and traffic, the main criticism I hear from such people.

[@MattyAviation]

bro said peculiar 💀

[@fp5495]

This is similar to Ocean Grove on the Jersey Shore. Tiny houses with walking paths that lead up to the large church in the middle, or the open church on the boardwalk near the ocean.

[@liamtahaney713]

Visited this town today after watching your video. Extremely Interesting place. Super reasonable housing too. I’d definitely consider living there if it wasn’t south Jersey

[@mkretz88]

What?! You don’t like pork roll flavored wooder ice?

[@DoctorCyan]

@@mkretz88with jimmies 😂

[@Vextrove]

7:51 I LOVE this! It looks like such a pleasant place to live! I can imagine what towns and cities used to look like back in the day

[@alessandrobicocchi9186]

Meanwhile Europe: wait...isn't that obvious?

[@quanbrooklynkid7776]

This not Europe tho...

[@alessandrobicocchi9186]

@@quanbrooklynkid7776 yes, and?

[@Rainbowrobb]

Because European cities were created before automobiles. Isn't that obvious?

[@Rune-Thief]

@@quanbrooklynkid7776 Your point ?

[@Rune-Thief]

@@Rainbowrobb It's not fully this either, a lot of cities were destroyed during ww2 and were rebuilt.

[@blanchegiunta4316]

My son went to rowan univ,..& has a friend that lives in the grove..it's adorable! We live in Robbinsville a newer planned community w shops ,restaurants, town hall,condos, single fam homes, lakes parks..totally walkable..Best of both..

[@mitsospiros]

Bordentown, a nice old town near where I live has density of around 4,000 p/sq mile. It also has a train station on the River line. Perhaps the density is why I like it so much. Great restaurants too.

[@winros]

I used to live in Pitman? I loved living there!✌️

[@onetwothreeabc]

I think we should build communities that does not want to live with a car and don't mind to live in a smaller space. However, I can also see a lot of reasons why some people wouldn't live in the township you mentioned in your video.

[@charlesrodriguez7984]

I wouldn’t die to the houses being close together but I could manage I guess.

[@EpicThe112]

That Diesel Light Rail should reduce crowding on the bus routes that run to Philadelphia from Pitman they're 313 412 & 408 NJ Transit buses.

[@timpauwels3734]

Pitman looks lovely!

[@dynamic5763]

If I’m not mistaken, Peachtree City is also somewhat a good solution because they can use golf carts instead of cars to get to a decent amount of locations which allows them to use golf carts that are electric or gas. Keep in mind the gas ones would still have lower emissions compared to cars.

[@IamTheHolypumpkin]

I read the text before I heard the audio and thought m^2 would stand for square meters and not square miles. Nearly 4k people per squaremeter would be insanely dense.

[@voxer99]

Yes, time would slow down because of the enormous gravity.

[@lilneopuppy]

Ocean Grove in nj is simular in its a dense suburb built as a religous resort town near a rail, it has roads, but all are narrow and its very walkable and beautiful. It feels to be a simular density as the philly rowhouses but the houses have a little seperation. ironically im falling in love with it via using it for free parking to work in asbury park 😅

[@kralle98]

*snorts line* good to see u again

[@ohhghost]

I found this exceptionally interesting. I live in Bryan/College Station Texas and it is suffering growing pains and failing at every next step. It’s not good for walking, but it also doesn’t solve the car problem either. I feel like it’s in a position it could easily make positive changes now that could set it on course to be an example to many cities of the same size. Thanks for sharing Pitman.

[@TransitAndTeslas]

I’m totally okay with these as single family homes. There you go we have a solution to the people who need their space. Bam!

[@DanTheCaptain]

This neighbourhood reminds me a lot of the Toronto Islands. A small community of home all surrounded by walkable pedestrian based infrastructure, only accessible by ferry. Cars are banned or severely limited to a main thoroughfare that connect all the islands. They’re amazing to walk through and are really calm and quiet.

[@henryefry]

Can I repackage your video as a letter to the editor for my local paper? I've been writing a series trying to convince suburban NIMBYs that mixed use development is good.

[@alanthefisher]

Sure, go ahead! Sounds like a great endeavor!

[@qjtvaddict]

Call car culture a conspiracy

[@mmca9323]

I grew up in Orange NJ and it is also incredibly walkable and lovely, our town is 2.2 sq miles and I love it! It was the best place to grow up imo.

[@elbowache]

"Everyone Likes Pitman" Greetings from Berlin. I love Pitman and used to frequent the Bus Stop Cafe there. I love watching your videos and the videos of otters YT urban planner types because it gives me the language to express what I've felt my whole life as a South Jerseyan. Berlin is a sad case of a colonial town with a good pedestrian core that's been slowly ruined by post-war suburban zoning. The biggest tragedy to me being that a large apartment complex was built...a mile outside of town far from any public transit and alone roads with no sidewalks. When you consider that American transportation is singlehandedly responsible for 5% of CO2 emissions, you begin to understand that R1 suburbia isn't just ugly and soulless, it's down right unethical and needs to be crushed. Thanks and godspeed as a planner trying to fix this train wreck of a country.

[@Keith58x]

You will find many walkable towns in New Jersey, many that have made a come back in the last quarter century. There are many reasons, but one reason is the New Jersey Rehabilitation Sub-code which makes it possible to reuse existing buildings without having to totally comply with the current building code. This allows those older business first floor with apartment on the upper floor buildings still be possible without destroying the building. The mixed use downtown makes for a vibrant safe place, even in a small town like Pitman.

[@TheJamaicanPhoenix]

Loving the funky outro!

[@zakfulci854]

I'm definitely visiting Pitman when I go to Philly in the near future.

[@xxrockraiderxx]

That's such a charming little town, you could almost call it European if it wasn't for the building styles.

[@kdaadventures8616]

Pitman is next to where I grew up. Its a great town. It's great at Christmas time in the grove.

[@govtpeaches]

I enjoyed this video, but especially loved the soundtrack. Vulf should be the official band of walkable cities. They even have a tune called Walkies!

[@alanthefisher]

There's a reason why I use The Speedwalker as an outro song :)

[@NativeNYerChicHK]

This intrigued me, and by the end of this video I realized that I’ve driven through here on that main County road! My daughter competed in the Regional Navy SeaPerch STEM competition at Rowan, I remember thinking how quant the whole area was driving toward Rowan. Had I known the area was this cool, I’d have gotten out and walked around to check things out. Coming from growing up in NYC but now living & raising my family in a classic traditional NJ suburb, where there is NO walkability, I’d LOVE this little town!

[@karlalockard4870]

The population of Pittman New Jersey is 3.4 % African American. 359 people.

[@burgerpommes2001]

Please make a Netherlands urban planning video

[@markstott6689]

I came across your channel due to the corrections offered in your video on California's high speed rail. As a result I've watched another dozen of your videos at least and about an hour ago I subscribed. I like very much your approach to explaining transit systems and solutions. Please keep your videos coming.

[@like.clarkwork]

Watching this video as a current New Jerseyan (Union County represent!) makes me wish this was what Union was like. Don't get me wrong, I love Union with all my heart but seeing this is what I wished Union could be.

[@pykepyke_]

Great video. I love the comment about small homes for one or two people that want to live in a house but not an apartment. It's sad that no one builds those middle spaces, the options seem to be a giant house or a small condo 😞 Keep up the great videos

[@Plan73]

Hi from Italy. It's a very nice town. Btw, the funny thing is people commenting about the cities like the guy at the beginning of the video 😀 I don't know why it's so hard to unerstand that not every city is like New Deli.

[@dietzhaus]

You should visit Ocean Grove, NJ in Monmouth County. Also started as a Methodist retreat, and still has its amazing humongous wooden church, victorian homes packed together, summertime tent homes, shops with apartments above, a beautiful boardwalk/beach, all built close to the train station. Very densely packed, but adorable. Until the 1980s they banned vehicles being visible on Sundays - they were either put into (rare) garages or driven out of the town.

[@billvojtech5686]

Suburbs are too dense. I want a national park to myself.

[@dayglodoggy]

Nice video! I grew up in mantua and sometimes my mom would treat me to a trip to pitman to go to the newsstand and the hobby shop and walk around. One issue with pitman though is while it's got population density, it doesn't have the job density that people need to afford to live there in most cases, so residents still need a way to get somewhere for work, which means cars in a lot of cases.

[@hartfischer5509]

The suburbs are not wasteful, they very efficiently provide what people really want, space , privacy, quietness, safety, enjoyment of the great expansive land we have. No need to re-indoctrinate people to make them prefer something else than what they actually want. We want space, we want cars so that we can go wherever and whenever we want. No waste at all :) And the great news is, that for the few people that want what you want, there are cities like Pitman that provide that for you, too. Just leave the rest of us alone , we don t want to be taught by urban planner bureaucrats :)

[@ianhomerpura8937]

Suburbs are planned and approved by planning bureaucrats as well. Joke's on you.

[@Burne222]

As a NJ resident, I never heard of Pitman until I saw this video. The layout of the town is very unique for a suburb.

[@emporioalnino4670]

I love how this is supposedly a more professional video but you said larping lmfao

[@andrewpinto50]

I’m a student at the near by university close to pitman. My roommate and I would drive over just to walk around the downtown area and get coffee. There is a local coffee joint that is the best.

[@paxundpeace9970]

Any example of a new dense neighborhood in the US built since 1980s.

[@michaelvaldez5153]

Would be cool to see you take on a couple of cuties or outlying towns across the eastern sea board. How are they good, bad, and how you would improve them. I’ll suggest Perth Amboy And Bridgewater, NJ, and Bethesda and Frederick MD