Naujamiestis (The New Town)

About a month ago I moved to Naujamiestis, partly for budget reasons and partly to have a less touristy lifestyle. The Old Town is wonderful, but mostly inhabited by foreigners willing to pay higher rents. The shops cater to deeper wallets and the grocery stores are small with little selection.

J. Basanaviciaus Street

My new neighborhood is absolutely wonderful. Within a 15 minute walk I can reach the architecture school for classes, Vilnius University for Lithuanian lessons, a huge grocery store, my gym, a specialty foods store, the new movie theater, another hyper market, a kebab shop, dry cleaners, bars, Chinese restaurants, post offices, banks, the train station, several bus stops where I can catch major routes to just about anywhere.... and the list goes on.

Vingis Cinema

Maxima superstore

The streets in my neighborhood have nice wide sidewalks, a grid pattern of not-so-long blocks, various architectural styles mostly at zero lot lines (right on the sidewalk), ground floor retail, mostly good street lighting, and the occasional kiosk for drinks, snacks or bus tickets.

Gothic Revival mixed use building

Pedestrian connection to A. Vivulskio street

Some areas of the new town have seen some recent new construction occur in the interior courtyards such as this new apartment building:

Train Station

It's very popular to give flowers to friends, colleagues, and family members on birthdays, after performances, the first day of school, and any other special occasion. Here is the 24-hour flower market, open seven days a week:

There are also some lower density areas to the western edge of the New Town near one of the largest city parks, Vingis Park. The buildings are set back further from the sidewalks and there are some nice street trees and small front yard gardens:
On Saturday mornings, year-round, residents bring their wares to the top of Tauro Hill park. It is a great place to find knitted socks, antique furniture, old WWII artifacts (pins, hats, shells), stamps, woven textiles, old jewelry, pots and just about anything else you can imagine. On a clear sunny day, locals gather here and just hang out on the lawn soaking up the sun and the gorgeous view of the city.
It is a dynamic neighborhood with young, old, Lithuanian, Russian and everything in between. I wonder why new development projects in Vilnius don't mimic these vibrant old neighborhoods, which are great examples of what works.

I have to assume that it is as simple as a break from the past and a look to the future of a young, independent, Lithuanian capital city that doesn't want anyone (especially government) telling them what to do/build and how. What could be more anti-Soviet, anti-communist, than 1970s American development patterns embodied by the shopping mall? There are three or four new shopping malls, all built with large street-front surface parking lots. But Vilnius is feeling the impact of the global financial crisis, even as another large shopping mall nears completion.

I often wonder how Americans could learn from the dynamic historic neighborhoods in Vilnius. But creating neighborhoods like Naujamiestis in the U.S. would require two major cultural shifts; Americans would have to trade their cars for public transportation and live in small apartments. Lithuanians on average (in rural and urban areas) live in approximately 24 square meters per person (300 sq. ft.). I can't imagine a young American family of three being happy with a 900 sq. ft. apartment. But this would allow for increased density, lower infrastructure costs and more efficient distribution of transit access. Maybe with the financial crisis and the growing concern for reducing energy consumption, the trend will move more towards smaller homes, a focus on public transportation and a more efficient lifestyle overall. Unfortunately, I have little faith that the American market forces will be strong enough to demand this of the private and public sectors.