New Urban News

A professional newsletter for planners, developers, architects, builders, public officials and others who are interested in the creation of human-scale communities.

The online articles below represent a portion of the material available in the printed version of New Urban News. To get the full printed publication, subscribe.

September 2009,

Vol. 14, No. 6

New urban community promotes

social networks and walking

A study of Orenco Station, a large traditional neighborhood development in Hillsboro, Oregon, backs claims that new urban design fosters physical activity and adds to the richness of community life.

Obama and Congress start

putting the pieces together

Top-level hiring and legislative proposals are moving Washington toward a more urban outlook.

Commentary:

New urbanism is about better living

Rob Steuteville’s comments on a study that gets back to the roots of the New Urbanism: the needs of people. 

Available in print only:

Miss. cottages slowly moving to permanent sites

Pilot program for housing designed after Hurricane Katrina is declared “a great success” by emergency agency.

Voting on LEED-ND is under way

CNU members began voting on the proposed LEED for Neighborhood Development program Aug. 19 and will continue electronic balloting until Sept. 17.

Miami nixes new code, but perhaps not for long

A four-year effort to place the city of Miami under a new urbanist zoning system failed in August when the City Commission deadlocked on the proposal, known as “Miami 21.”

New Urbanism accreditation gains steam

The Congress for the New Urbanism accreditation program is gathering momentum.

New leader at Reconnecting America

Smith succeeds Shelley Poticha.

Amid Florida’s foreclosures, CityPlace endures

CityPlace South Tower, a 20-story residential building in downtown West Palm Beach, Florida, went through what was described as a “friendly foreclosure” this summer.

‘Secondary suites’ are authorized in Vancouver

This month, Vancouver, British Columbia, will begin allowing developers to build condominium units that include living quarters that can operate independent of the main portion of each condo.

Turning around a troubled Jamaica neighborhood

The Prince’s Foundation uses traditional urbanism to reclaim difficult settings.

How to build inexpensively, in a Jamaican way

Rose Town in Jamaica takes its cues from the climate and economic and social conditions of a place much different from prosperous southwestern England.

Interest in streetcars survives economic downtown

“The explosion of interest in streetcars stalled only slightly in 2008,” according to Gloria Ohland of Reconnecting America.

Disappointment arises at Toronto area project

Cornell, once a star new urban undertaking, falls short on retail within walking distance.

Book reviews:

From Despair to Hope: HOPE VI and the New Promise of Public Housing in America’s Cities

Henry G. Cisneros and Lora Engdahl, editors

Wrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took On
New York’s Master Builder and Transformed the
American City

By Anthony Flint

Genius of Common Sense: Jane Jacobs and the story of The Death and Life of Great American Cities

By Glenna Lang and Marjory Wunsch

Also: CNU Update

Plus: • Moving Cooler •  Reburbia • “Urban Sprawl Repair Kit” • Southport Green • Patrick L. Phillips •  San Antonio approved a form-based code •  16-mile light-rail line • Smart Growth Schools • Mountain West Planning and Design Academy • New Urban Free Agents ••