Once upon a time when you drove down the coast of Southern California you could tell when you were leaving one town and arriving at the next. When the kids called out, "Are we there yet?" parents could tell them to watch for the city limit sign in the outskirts. Cities had outskirts then, and city limit signs weren't lost as they are today in an endless jungle of used car lots, strip malls and fast food chains.

Southern California cities had clearly defined downtowns in those days, where you could park within walking distance of the post office, a department store, grocery, restaurant and barber shop. It served as the community's primary gathering place. A trip downtown was a social event.

Is it possible to regain the sense of community that was lost with the disappearance of downtowns? Carlsbad's Redevelopment Agency thinks so. At its Jan. 25 workshop, a plan to adopt new building standards for the Village was rolled out. Titled "Continuing the Story: Building an Urban Village," its goal is to "create a vibrant, high-quality shopping, working and living environment while maintaining human-scaled gathering places and interesting buildings."

The new standards would more than double the density in the Village (from 19 dwelling units per acre to 45), encourage the construction of new buildings closer to sidewalks, promote the use of public transportation by reduced parking space requirements and support more creativity in architectural design.

The redevelopment plan draws heavily on David Sucher's book, "City Comforts -- How to Build an Urban Village." The Seattle author has gained the attention of city planners for his common-sense recommendations for making an urban area more livable. He writes, "The key decision in creating a walkable, pedestrian-oriented neighborhood is the position of the building with respect to the sidewalk. This decision determines whether you have a city or a suburb."

He boils it down to three rules:

1. Build to the sidewalk.

2. Make the building front "permeable" (i.e., no blank walls).

3. Prohibit parking lots in front of the building.

Carlsbad's Village Faire Shopping Center is a good example of a missed opportunity. It was built on an attractive parklike site and violates each of Sucher's rules. The cluster of buildings forming the square is separated from city sidewalks, hidden behind a barricade of parked cars. The small courtyard at its center is overshadowed by the buildings surrounding it, cutting off the sun and ocean breezes. It's simply a suburban mall plunked down in the middle of town.

The headquarters of its new owner, the SIMA Corp., is located in Santa Barbara, a city with an enviable downtown shopping district. Maybe revised building standards will enable Village Faire's new owners to make the architectural changes needed to transform the shopping center into a more profitable and pedestrian-friendly place, exemplifying the goals of the Village's redevelopment plan.

The good old days of small-town life in coastal Southern California may be gone forever, but enlightened urban planning could help us recapture its best features.

- Carlsbad resident Richard J. Riehl is a freelance columnist for the North County Times. Contact him at RiehlWorld2@yahoo.com.