Much of what goes under hte name of "New Urbanism" is anything but. I suggest desiring to know more about The New Urbanism (yes, it should be capitalized, and properly preceeded by "The" with a capital "T") check out the Congress for New Urbanism website at http://www.cnu.org/index.cfm. There is an interesting essay, "New Urbanism And Natural Law" by Phillip Bess on "the moral authority of the urban transect" found at Veritas et Venustas. This essay came about because of Andres Duany's interest in moral law and urbanism and a promise by Bess that he would speak to it if Duany spoke at the Andrews School of Architecture at Notre Dame. Duany, as you undoubtedly know, is one of The New Urbanism's guiding lights.
Frank