This lecture traces the rapid growth of mass-produced, American suburban housing developments (such as Levittown, Pennsylvania) following World War II, and the subsequent emergence of planned communities in the U.S. during the 1960s and Seventies, exemplified by Columbia, Maryland, Reston, Virginia, and Irvine, California. The translation of environmental psychology concepts and findings into design guidelines for creating successful residential neighborhoods is illustrated through examples drawn from several American new towns and planned communities. For instance, strategies of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) and for protecting residential neighborhoods from excessive automobile traffic are discussed.