Re-creating an urban setting in the heart of suburbia can result in a community as antiseptic as a theme park.

Celebration, Fla. is an example of the new urbanism. It was created, naturally, by The Walt Disney Co. A forerunner of the genre is Seaside, Fla., the set of "The Truman Show," in which Jim Carrey portrays an unwitting reality TV star who resides in a soundstage of a town.

Authentic is not what comes to mind with either place.

Which brings us to Roseland, a "new urban" community approved by the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors Wednesday night.

Roseland will be the largest development in county history. Its walkable neighborhoods, narrow streets, sidewalks and dense housing were likened to Richmond's Fan District.

Meanwhile, West Broad Village has sprouted from a Short Pump pasture, its urban facades incongruous amid big-box stores and acres of asphalt.

Once upon a time, suburbanites wanted no reminder of the city they'd left behind. But now, ersatz urbanism is in vogue.

"You can find them all around the country now," said John Accordino, an associate professor of urban studies and regional planning at Virginia Commonwealth University.

This is not your father's subdivision. The suburban landscape is changing.

"I think a number of factors have brought us to a point where people are saying the suburban model of the immediate postwar period of the '50s, '60s and '70s has run its course," Accordino said.

Tastes changed. "Developers are trying to re-create mixed-use communities with character and walkability."

But character, like taste, is acquired; it can't be drawn up in a blueprint. What makes cities distinctive -- their age, history, culture and communities -- cannot be instantly replicated.

Accordino says the new urbanism trend is more a result of shifting demographics than changing values. Still-energetic empty-nesters and single people without children covet lifestyle amenities unavailable in a typical suburban community.

The move toward new urbanism coincides with a burgeoning renaissance of cities nationwide -- a trend no doubt influenced by high gasoline prices.

"This is America, and I really don't expect people to turn in their car keys tomorrow," Accordino said. "But I do think we're less enamored of the automobile now that we were in decades prior."

This new suburban model promotes smarter growth and less degradation of farmland. "The old suburban model produced sprawl and inefficiency, which has proven to be costly to governments and citizens," said Morton B. Gulak, a professor of urban studies and planning at VCU. He added that the new model provides a greater sense of community. A cynic would dismiss this trend as an attempt to recreate the ambiance of urban living without problem schools, crime and racial and economic diversity. An optimist would view it as an opportunity to create a new and healthier relationship between our city and suburbs -- a greater sense of community beyond the Roselands and West Broad Villages.

Chesterfield has embraced the new urbanism. A welcome next step would be for the county to gain greater empathy for real, job-seeking urban dwellers by opening its borders to meaningful mass transit. Who knows where we could go from there?

Creating this new regionalism, in the heart of Virginia, would indeed be cause for celebration.
Contact Michael Paul Williams at (804) 649-6815 or mwilliams@timesdispatch.com.