Lot Lines: Urbanism vs. new urbanism – A tale of two cities in one

Julie and I just returned from a few days in Panama City , Florida . Not to be confused with the tourist-heavy Panama City Beach, this is the historic downtown—a city with deep roots, hit hard by Hurricane Michael in 2018 and now undergoing a significant reinvestment. I had heard about the effort and wanted to see it for myself. What I found was a fascinating distinction—almost a case study—between “urbanism” and “ New Urbanism .”

Urbanism, in its most classic sense, is organic. It’s the centuries-old street grids, narrow alleys, public markets, and civic buildings that evolved out of necessity and tradition. You see it in port towns, rail towns, and early state capitals. It’s what I write about in my new book titled subURBAN! . Panama City’s bones reflect that history. Its downto