New town in South Dakota plans a mix of Europe, practicality

The community of Laurent, as explained by planners in a program here Friday night, would borrow from a variety of urban models to customize a setting for deaf people and fellow signers. But its layout would alter any culture – hearing or otherwise – with narrow streets to slow down traffic and a housing model that would revive a lifestyle of front-porch conversations once common in America.

Laurent today is an untested idea in the mind of co-founder Marvin Miller, who wants to see the town rise on rural land along Interstate 90 three miles south of Salem. Developing the McCook County site would cost "well over $100 million," Miller said.

JON WALKER
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