Developments created by new urbanists are "doppelgangers" for real homes - manufactured diversity, which goes against Jane Jacobs'[^1] view that diversity must be spontaneous. This is why new developments seem "uncanny". Is it a coincidence that the German term Freud uses for "uncanny" in *The Uncanny*[^2] by Sigmund Freud is "unheimlich" which translates to "unhomely"? As Fainstein notes in *New Directions in Planning Theory*[^3], "And truly, if one visits the world’s planned new towns and downtown redevelopment projects, even those built with commitments to diversity and community, one is struck by their physical and social homogeneity," (p. 14). The idea of repetition of the same thing is not only related to Freudian doppelgangers, but is reminiscent of one of his experiences, describing how repetition in physical space can be uncanny: "After wandering about for some time without asking the way, I suddenly found myself back in the same street, where my presence began to attract attention. Once more I hurried away, only to return there again by a different route. I was now seized by a feeling that I can only describe as uncanny, and I was glad to find my way back to the piazza that I had recently left,"(p. 144). The physical and social homogeneity of new developments by new urbanists may lead to this uncanny feeling: that you've been here before, that you can't find your way out. There are similar subjects explored in the film 2020 film *Vivarium*[^4], in which a couple finds themselves in an endless housing development, unable to escape. ![[The Uncanny and New Urbanism__1.png]] [^1]: Jacobs, Jane. _The Death and Life of Great American Cities_. Modern Library ed. New York: Modern Library, 1993. [^2]: Freud, Sigmund, David McLintock, and Hugh Haughton. _The Uncanny_. Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books, 2003. [^3]: Fainstein, Susan S. “NEW DIRECTIONS IN PLANNING THEORY,” 2000, 28. [^4]: _Vivarium_. Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi. Fantastic Films, Frakas Productions, Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, 2020.