Whatever the urban planning method implemented, it is generally related to the type of land for the prospective development. Urban renewal is the redevelopment or renovation of run-down areas in the center of an urban environment. The methods and results vary widely, occasionally revitalizing a neighborhood, or occasionally destroying the unique character of a place, consequently leading to a mixed assessment of its utility. All, however, include the restructuring of a pre-existing urban environment into an altered urban environment.

Suburban infill, meanwhile, is the process of developing land between existing suburban areas and the urban center left open during initial development. Smart growth and new urbanist principles are often applied in these cases, because infill increases the density of the larger metropolitan area.

However, when an entire city or town is planned prior to the existence of a substantial settlement, it is called a new town, planned community, or planned city. The city is then built and developed with basic adherence to the plans. Many cities built for the purposes of being capitals, such as Washington, D.C., Canberra in Australia, Brasilia in Brazil and Islamabad in Pakistan, fall under this category.

The United States sports a much larger percentage of planned cities than the European countries their planners’ ancestors inhabited. A number of cities were carved out of the wilds to serve as state seats, such as Columbus, Ohio, Indianapolis, Indiana, Madison, Wisconsin, Salt Lake City, Utah, Austin, Texas, Tallahassee, Florida, and Raleigh, North Carolina. Many historic American cities are also planned cities, such as Philadelphia, Williamsburg, and Annapolis. New Haven, Connecticut, is frequently acknowledged as the first planned city.

New urbanism occasionally encompasses other city planning systems such as smart growth, and is occasionally recognized as a separate entity. The idea claims to originate in the early twentieth century with the development of the neighborhoods it uses as models, though as a movement, it is responding to the perceived weaknesses in suburban development.

Whether or not smart growth is an offshoot of new urbanism, the two share a number of concepts. Both emphasize the important of a compact, walkable community center, and the assimilation of different types of housing and commercial buildings. An emphasis on environmentally-conscious building, the renovation of brown- or greyfield land, and historic preservation are other similarities.

However, because new urbanism was created as a specific theory for urban design rather than simply being based on a looser set of ideals, its definition is more concrete than that of smart growth. Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk founded the Congress for the New Urbanism, inspired by the time the husband-and-wife team spent at Yale. Their guidelines for a ‘new urban’ neighborhood suggest the inclusion of most of these elements:

- A recognizable center for the town/city/community, such as a green square or distinctive intersection, in which the transit stop is also situated.

- Buildings in the neighborhood center placed close to the street, to form a well-defined space.

- A walk of not much more than 5 minutes from any home to the community center, or approximately 2,000 feet.

- Mixed housing types, including apartments, rowhouses and detached homes, to provide a suitable dwelling for people of all ages and all economic means.

- An auxiliary building for workspace or a garage apartment is allowed in the backyard of each home.

- Parking lots or garages in the back of homes and businesses, rather than fronting the streets.

- Shops and offices to sufficiently serve the weekly needs of residents on the edge of the community.

- An elementary school close enough for most children to walk from home.

- Small parks or playgrounds near every home, not more than a tenth of a mile away.

- Streets that create a linked network to disperse traffic.

- Relatively narrow streets, suitable for pedestrians and bicycles, preferably lined with trees.

- Some major spots in the neighborhood center reserved for buildings to facilitate community meetings and activities, or for religious, cultural, or educational purposes.

- A self-governing community, guided by a council that makes decisions on maintenance and change.

There are a number of complaints lodged against new urbanism—the first, a semantics issue, that the scheme is not actually ‘new,’ as it derives its inspiration from American towns of the pre-automobile era. Some argue, conversely, that this halcyon design is based upon a system that exists only in nostalgia. Either way, it has drawn criticism chiefly for emphasizing aesthetic values over practical design, especially as a new urban community might relate to the surrounding region. The delineation of design elements irks those who feel the plan undermines American property rights and civil liberties, while on the opposite side of the spectrum, some accuse it of being a gentrification plan that would force lower-income families from their neighborhoods. Though the transportation habits of new urban residents may improve, the communities tend to remain socially homogenous ones.

For those who oppose Euclidean zoning laws and their relationship to “urban sprawl,” a number of new urban planning systems have been created. Smart growth seeks to eliminate the environmental, social and economic issues perceived as part of suburban growth by creating land-use plans focusing on non-car transportation and an integrated city center. Elements of smart growth are not universally settled, so prospective development plans can be categorized as more or less “smart growth,” rather than simply belonging to the category or not.

Smart growth expounds the benefits of higher-density developments, whose compact nature enables residents to walk, bike, or take public transportation. Smart growth proponents call this transit-oriented development (TOD), and smart growth planning attempts to maximize access to public transportation. Supporters believe this kind of community is significantly more healthy, both socially and physically.

Smart growth also advocates mixed-use development that unites differently priced housing in the same area, and a regulated blend of certain types of commercial or public institutions, aimed at providing nearby amenities to residential neighborhoods. In order to redevelop an urban environment, a city’s zoning policies regarding height limitations, lot size, and parking requirements must be altered; sometimes, additional restrictions are placed on types of low-density development such as detached homes, strip malls, and parking lots.

Historic preservation often figures within smart growth, as another one of its chief goals is the establishment of a unique community, whose strong sense of place will attract businesses and residents. The construction or revitalization of a community center that brings together cultural resources while preserving outside natural resources via efficient use of space are also central tenets. A reexamination of the development process would include a simpler, more dependable and more equitable distribution of both costs and payback.

Smart growth emphasizes long-term, wide-spread effects over short-term, personal benefits. For example, it may be pleasant to live in a suburban neighborhood and commute via car to work, but the current usage of automobiles is disrupting the climate all over the world. A community that requires less automobile transportation will become more pleasant as traffic decreases, the tax dollar is saved, and air quality is improved.

Economically mixed communities also provide a better quality of life for everyone. The city centers become more vibrant ant offer better opportunities as the resources of the community are reinvested in it. And rather than building via a system of development that emphasizes short term-profits, the long-term economic implications are weighed. A retail center developed ten miles from the city center may sit on less expensive land, but the communal cost of road construction, maintenance and gasoline, not to mention the commute time and air pollution, will be far greater.

Smart growth still relies on zoning laws, offering incentives for public transportation awareness, high-density design, or for the redevelopment of abandoned industrial or commercial facilities, otherwise known as brownfield or greyfield land. And like any zoning system, it has its detractions; opponents are generally offended by the implication that other zoning types are “un-smart.” Those who strongly favor detached homes argue that smart growth increases land value to the point where the average person can no longer afford a single-family house. Naturally, most supporters of smart growth contend that the cost of the suburban lifestyle on the greater community should be reflected within its cost.