HARMONY, FLORIDA

A nonfiction book explores a new kind of urban living.

In these pages, Catanese describes the origins, planning, financing, and development of the new Central Florida town of Harmony, which was envisioned from the beginning to “reflect some of the best principles of New Urbanism, land conservation, ecological preservation, and the humane treatment of animals.” New Urbanism is characterized by things like walkability, mixed housing, diversity, quality architecture, “green” transportation, and, perhaps most of all, sustainability. The author points out that much of what readers think of as traditional urban living developed during the Industrial Revolution and therefore fails to take into account many aspects of modern life. Catanese details the vision and pragmatism of Jim and Martha Lentz, the founders of Harmony, and he puts forward the end results of their efforts as a model for other communities in the 21st century to emulate. He describes some of Harmony’s many livable features, from the centrally located parks (for humans and dogs) to the well-planned, close-knit neighborhoods (a hallmark of New Urbanism is an emphasis on smaller lots and houses). In all of this, the author is careful to soften the missionary zeal he clearly feels; the book is obviously intended to be a call to action rather than an unachievable vision. The unattainable aspects are evident—not every town gets to start from scratch—but Catanese’s story about the nuts and bolts of building Harmony makes for captivating reading, regardless of how applicable the lessons of that founding might be to Cleveland or Chicago. And since the Harmony founders’ vision of “the desired balance of environmental sustainment and quality residential living” has become one of the central urban planning issues of the 21st century, the riveting account of how the town does it has an added interest for the huge percentage of people residing in or near big cities.

A surprisingly dramatic and gripping story about the founding of one small town.