March 2008
January/February 2008
New urbanists step up their progress toward ‘green’ design
A council highlights green architecture initiatives of the New Urbanism while the trend gains recognition for fighting greenhouse gas emissions.
Cool Spots, bright idea
As new urbanists struggle to find ways to publicize the environmental advantages of walkable land-use patterns, a planning technology is taking shape that could make that case on a wider scale.
Who will opt for a green community?
Know your audience: Andres Duany identifies four main target groups and their outlooks.
Commentary: Many reasons to go green
In almost no time, it seems, New Urbanism has gone from a design movement recognized primarily for good placemaking, to one that is perceived as beneficial to the environment. More work needs to be done to get the word out, and new urbanists themselves are helping by more explicitly focusing on green building principles.
December 2007
Town center triumphs over national mall owner
West Hartford, Connecticut's Blue Back Square opens despite two referendums and litigation instigated by the Taubman company.
Cities redo streets for pedestrians, cyclists, transit
“Complete Streets” movement presses a growing number of cities to plan for multimodal transportation.
General Growth moves ahead on Utah urban center
The $552 million redevelopment of Cottonwood Mall in Holladay, Utah, represents a shift towards mixed-use development by General Growth Properties, the nation’s second largest mall owner.
Commentary: Hard times for sprawlmeisters
We need planning that emulates places that people love: downtowns, villages, towns, and even suburbs. There’s a difference between fundamentally sound suburbs, which can be made to be walkable and human-scale, and sprawl, which cannot. Suburbs can be saved just like cities — through the techniques of urbanism.
October/November 2007
Commentary: The writing on the sprawl
America is in denial about many things, but chief among them is this: The oil dependency that is the root of so many of our problems is directly related to our suburban way of life.
September 2007
LEED aims to set ‘first national standard for neighborhood design’
“The overwhelming response to [LEED-ND] is an indication of the market for it,” says Dara Kovel, a New Haven-based regional director of the Jonathan Rose Companies.
A campus for India, shaped like a mandala
Vedanta, the largest new university in the world, will have a plan that draws from Indian spiritual traditions.
Complications of mixed-use don't deter Tennessee developer
Boyle Investment Company's new project, Berry Farms, has been cited as an example of “quality growth” by Cumberland Region Tomorrow, a smart-growth education and technical assistance organization in Middle, Tennessee. But it's been a struggle getting there.
The right detail for the right price
How to get authentic-looking traditional details is one problem that new urbanists have been trying to solve, with mixed success, for two decades. Building affordable housing is another. Here are some practical solutions to both.
Commentary: What's right and wrong with LEED
Philip Langdon's observations on how far Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) projects have come, and far they still have left to go.
July/August 2007
Commentary: Sprawl: agent of climate change
California has been a leader in state action to curb greenhouse gas emissions, and now the Golden State is going after one of the most important and least recognized causes of global warming: suburban development patterns.
June 2007
EPA presents smart-growth ideas to big builders
Studies suggest that production builders could capture a growing market and avoid the coming glut of large-lot houses.
Live-work units offer relief from housing downturn
Terra Land Group, which produced the Town Commons traditional neighborhood development in Howell, Michigan, is now turning to inexpensive live-work units as a way of coping with the current housing market — sluggish in much of the nation and especially depressed in Michigan.
Big mall owner sees its future in town centers
General Growth Properties, the nation’s second-largest owner of shopping malls, has decided to start redeveloping its more than 200 properties by adding housing, offices, hotels, and other elements — and applying New Urbanism’s techniques in some locations.
Commentary: With friends like these...
A bizarre event during the Congress for the New Urbanism's annual conference in mid-May leaves some audience members incensed.
April/May 2007
Move toward neighborhood-scale schools slowly gains momentum
New urbanists and health advocates call for overturning state standards that result in overly large school sites.
Fighting for good, affordable neighborhoods
The design process for new urban miliary housing is revealed __ with important lessons for how to cut costs without compromising principles.
Market trends favor NU
As national real estate sales slow, demographic and preference trends make smart growth and New Urbanism a good bet.
Commentary: Foreclosures a sign of deeper troubles for sprawl
Foreclosures appear to be highest where suburban sprawl is rampant and large-lot houses are dangerously oversupplied.
March 2007
Shake-out alters lineup of NU and smart growth investment funds
Since the late 1990s, a number of people have tried to form investment pools that would provide money for new urbanist developments. It has not been easy going. Yet while some investment pools are being postponed or pared down, others are springing into existence.
Canadian firm sets sights on New Urbanism
Canada Lands Company (CLC), a corporation that redevelops surplus military bases across Canada, has received the go-ahead to build or refurbish 3,200 housing units at the 200-acre Currie Barracks in Calgary, Alberta. At 16 units per acre, the project will be the densest development CLC has yet planned in the rapidly growing prairie province.
LEED-ND launched as a pilot program
Coalition seeks projects to be certified through the first official rating system for New Urbanism and smart growth.
Commentary: The Directory of the New Urbanism is here
Until recently, the New Urbanism operated like a pretelephonic society.
January/February 2007
More developers, better results: a lesson in orchestration
Some of the most interesting new urbanist work is being carried out by groups of developers. By involving multiple developers, a sizable project can often be built more speedily, and it can incorporate great variety — in the kinds of buildings it includes, in the uses it accommodates, and in its range of styles.
Natural drainage systems can cut NU’s development costs
A newly completed study led by Tom Low shows that choosing “natural drainage systems” could sharply reduce engineering costs for traditional neighborhood developments (TNDs).
Thoroughfare design manual enters final stretch
A long-awaited thoroughfare design manual — the fruit of some five years of collaboration between the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and the Congress for New Urbanism — will go through its final approval phase this year. The result could be an important step forward for street design — or it could be a setback.
Commentary: Cities less friendly? Phooey!
The authors of University of California study suggest that public officials should encourage more sprawl. As it turns out, the original claim of the study, that suburbs are friendlier places to live than cities, is inaccurate.
December 2006
New Urbanism moves toward ‘low-impact’ infrastructure
In recent years, environmental activists have argued that rain should be handled in a more natural fashion — through “rain gardens,” bioswales, and other ecological features — instead of relying heavily on underground pipes and other conventional engineering mechanisms. A growing number of new urbanists are moving toward this ecological approach.
Retail seen as ‘the Achilles’ heel’ of some TODs
Transit-oriented development project Fruitvale Village in Oakland, California highlights questions of how much retail to build and how to handle parking.
How to make urban housing more affordable
Although housing prices in many regions have declined in the past several months, they rose tremendously in the past few years, and affordability remains a big problem in many places. Fortunately, it’s a problem that New Urbanism is well equipped to address — in ways that also improve livability.
Commentary: Codes and plans make progress
If the New Urbanism is going to change development patterns in a fundamental way, the keys will be codes and regional plans. These have the potential to change the land-use operating system, improving the outcomes long after the practitioners who create the codes and plans leave town. That’s the theory — so it’s nice to see the theory becoming a reality.
October/November 2006
September 2006
July/August 2006
Katrina Cottages funded; implementation questions remain
President Bush signed legislation in June authorizing $400 million to replace tens of thousands of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) trailers that displaced families have been occupying since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast last year.
How to mitigate the impact of big box stores
The choice depends on the budget and the unique circumstances of each main street or urban center. Belmar, a new urbanist grayfield development in Lakewood, Colorado, employs four strategies.
New Urbanism in the crosshairs
The prominent role of new urbanists and CNU in planning the recovery of hurricane-damaged communities in Mississippi and Louisiana has brought widespread attention to New Urbanism since last August, some of it hostile.
Commentary: Affordable living, not just affordable housing
Viewed in isolation, housing affordability is a tough challenge for new urbanists.
June 2006
New housing manufacturing system tried at TND
New Town Builders is testing a new manufacturing system for houses in TNDs that the company hopes will reduce defects, cut costs, and reduce construction time by up to 75 percent.
Gentilly gets its own plan
Lacking a city-initiated redevelopment plan, the Gentilly section of New Orleans took its future into its own hands in late April and sponsored a charrette.
Investment pools form to support smart growth and NU
Across the United States, investment pools are suddenly cropping up, offering what could eventually be substantial financial backing for new urbanist development.
Commentary: Why new urbanists loved Jacobs
By the time you read this, Jane Jacobs will have been gone for about a month. She died in Toronto on April 25 at the age of 89
April/May 2006
New charrette system may bring more production builders into TNDs
Three central Florida architects have devised a new charrette process that they believe will appeal to large production homebuilders and expand the number of Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TNDs) in North America.
A comprehensive approach to green building
Green building and the New Urbanism fit hand in glove at Belmar, the redevelopment of a former regional shopping mall in Lakewood, Colorado. Green building, like New Urbanism, requires creativity, flexibility, and thinking outside the box.
The cottage that can go for a swim
Vulnerable neighborhoods like those in Biloxi, on Mississippi's Gulf Coast, need buildings that are “able to take a swim every 30 years,” architect Stefanos Polyzoides said last October during the Mississippi Renewal Forum.
Commentary: It's the context, stupid
The New Urbanism has always raised the hair on the necks of many academics and opinion makers in the field of architecture.
March 2006
Louisiana on fast track to adopting new urban ideas
Lake Charles, in the first Louisiana Recovery Authority charrette, endorses a new code and a downtown revitalization plan. March 2006
Wal-Mart commits to charrette in Mississippi
A delegation of new urbanists and Mississippians returned from Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, in mid-January with a promise that the discount retailer would participate in a charrette writing a SmartCode plan for a section of Pass Christian, where the company may rebuild a store destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. March 2006
Design manual for urban thoroughfares ready for release
A five-year collaboration between ITE and CNU produces a new recommended practice. March 2006
Commentary: The strange career of an ‘urban expert’
Joel Kotkin's website gives the impression that Kotkin, an Irvine Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, is an urban expert. March 2006
Jan/Feb 2006
New Urbanism makes inroads; still out of academic mainstream
New Urban News ranks the top schools for preparing new urbanist practitioners and reports on US academic programs. Jan/Feb 2006
Mississippi moves forward on house designs and SmartCode
A Pattern Book for Gulf Coast Neighborhoods, containing 70 generously illustrated pages that tell how to design houses and other buildings in the traditional styles of southern Mississippi, is the latest style guide compiled by Urban Design Associates (UDA) of Pittsburgh. Jan/Feb 2006
New urbanist firms will plan Louisiana recovery
The Louisiana Recovery Authority is hiring experienced new urbanist firms to help the state, where an estimated 205,000 homes were destroyed in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and their aftermath. Jan/Feb 2006
Commentary: A decade of challenges
“There is a growing tendency among architects and planners to return to practices that create a sense of place and community in the built environment,” I wrote in May 1996, in the first issue of New Urban News. I am happy to report a decade later that the words still ring true. Jan/Feb 2006
December 2005
Ideas for Mississippi’s coast ignite enthusiasm, face FEMA resistance
New urbanist “mega-charrette” calls for boulevards, rail transit, mixed uses, and walkable neighborhoods in a devastated 11-city region. From Dec 2005
Long-awaited Columbia downtown planned
The heart of Maryland’s large 1960s town is getting a new urban plan and form-based code to govern 30 years of growth. From Dec 2005
New codes written for Gulf Coast
The Mississippi Renewal Forum provided one of the first opportunities to introduce an entire region to the SmartCode and the idea of Transect-based and form-based coding. From Dec 2005
Commentary: Quantity and quality in Biloxi
The seven-day Mississippi Renewal Forum in mid-October, which created regional and local plans for redevelopment of 11 cities along 120 miles of coast devastated by Hurricane Katrina, was the most efficient and productive event I have ever witnessed or even heard about in recent times. From Dec 2005
Oct/Nov 2005
New urbanists prepare to tackle Gulf Coast reconstruction plan
On behalf of CNU, Duany organizes teams to create redevelopment plans for at least nine hard-hit coastal communities in Mississippi. From Oct/Nov 2005.
Targeting changes in big box stores
One chain increasingly tailors its stores to the urban market by including two levels, escalators, and structured parking. From Oct/Nov 2005.
SmartCode Manual now available
In the works for nearly two years, a manual to help people implement the SmartCode was scheduled for release in early October. From Oct/Nov 2005.
Commentary: Looking to the past as we rebuild
As we go to press, a potentially devastating hurricane, Rita, is headed for the Texas or Louisiana coast, and millions of people are evacuating their homes. Less than a month before Rita, Katrina destroyed coastal towns and cities and flooded New Orleans, one of America’s most beloved cities, killing more than a thousand people in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. From Oct/Nov 2005.
Letters: Norquist questions eminent domain coverage
From Oct/Nov 2005.
September 2005
New urbanists divided on use of eminent domain
Some link property condemnation with failed renewal projects; others see eminent domain as an essential tool. (Also see response from John Norquist.) From September 2005.
ULI program eases way for smart growth projects
The Urban Land Institute is going nationwide with a program that should make it easier for smart growth and new urban projects to win the governmental approvals they need. From September 2005.
Office park to become neighborhood
The Upper Rock District, which has been called the first plan to convert an existing suburban business park into a mixed-use neighborhood, has won approval from the City of Rockville, Maryland, council. From September 2005.
Commentary: Eminent domain and New Urbanism
Many observers, on both the left and the right — especially the right — are upset by the Supreme Court’s Kelo v. New London decision. From September 2005.
Jul/Aug 2005
CNU debates energy-efficient development, street design, and government regulation
Progress toward drawing up environmental standards for neighborhood design — and thus allying New Urbanism with the increasingly potent “green building” movement — was highlighted during the June annual conference of the Congress for the New Urbanism. From Jul/Aug 2005.
Urbanism holds promise for reducing energy use
Researchers presented findings at the Congress for the New Urbanism annual conference that show substantial energy savings from higher-density urbanism — greater savings than can be achieved from the US government Energy Star program (see graphs). From Jul/Aug 2005.
Missouri town bursts forth
Not many people outside of eastern Missouri have heard of New Town at St. Charles, but that is likely to change. From Jul/Aug 2005.
Commentary: Density is hot, freeways are not, in the new Los Angeles
After becoming famous for freeways, Southern California has learned that designing a region exclusively around the automobile is a recipe for frustration.So today the pedestrians of the nation’s second largest metropolis are gradually beginning to get the attention they deserve. From Jul/Aug 2005.
June 2005
‘Cohousing’ bolsters new urban neighborhoods
An alternative to the solitary household finds a place in TND projects. From June 2005.
Retail shifts toward livability, says mixed-use expert
No one has won more acclaim for designing mixed-use centers in recent years than Richard Heapes. From June 2005.
Transect mapping system created
Transect-based codes like the SmartCode provide new opportunities for municipalities to promote New Urbanism and smart growth. From June 2005.
Commentary: Planning has come a long way — just look at Nashville
If you want to see how far planning has come in the last three or four decades, read The Plan of Nashville: Avenues to a Great City, created by the Nashville Civic Design Center with support from the city and written and edited by Christine Kreyling. From June 2005.
Apr/May 2005
The return of the neighborhood church
A mature and well-conceived new urban community can easily pass the “orange juice test.” But what about the church test? From Apr/May 2005.
New urbanists design town for deaf
One of the boldest new urban visions to date was created in late March for a field in South Dakota that would not ordinarily be a candidate for large-scale development. From Apr/May 2005.
Pave paradise? No, ditch the parking lot
Planning expert Donald Shoup offers a novel solution to places damaged by too much parking. From Apr/May 2005.
Commentary: 'Taking back' what belongs to many
A curious thing happened to the planning profession on its long road to recovery. The American Planning Association came closer than ever to endorsing New Urbanism’s principles, but displayed a surprising lack of respect for many of the people who put those principles into practice. From Apr/May 2005.
March 2005
Seaside town center to be transformed
The new urban icon on the Florida panhandle will get long-anticipated buildings and a few new twists. From March 2005.
Innovative ballpark proposed for TND
The developers of Meriam Park in Chico, California, are proposing a bold plan that would embed a professional baseball stadium into the urban fabric of a new town center. From March 2005.
Urban growth boundary did not make Portland unaffordable
New figures undercut claims that the Oregon region’s housing costs have gone out of sight. From March 2005.
Commentary: HOPE VI is dead; long live HOPE VI
Once again HOPE VI is on the chopping block, and this time it appears the Bush administration really means it. From March 2005.
Jan/Feb 2005
Terminated vistas: focusing the power of urban retail
Developers and stores increasingly recognize the economic advantages of key locations in town centers. From Jan/Feb 2005.
As street trees die, cities search for ways to stay green
Toronto, its tree cover rapidly thinning, is one city looking for solutions. From Jan/Feb 2005.
Port redevelopment offers new urban opportunity
Port Royal is just a small town in South Carolina, but from a new urban perspective, it’s a town with a golden opportunity and with the right attitude and tools. From Jan/Feb 2005.
Commentary: What’s the problem with sprawl?
Should we worry about sprawl? Some defenders of suburbanization point out that only 4 percent of US land is developed. From Jan/Feb 2005.
December 2004
2004: a year of ample progress for New Urbanism
In cities and suburbs, in codes and transportation, new urbanists wield a growing influence. From December 2004.
A suburban agglomeration becomes a downtown
Kendall offers a glimpse of how an “edge city” can evolve with the help of a plan and a form-based code. From December 2004.
Town centers open around the US
Crocker Park, Victoria Gardens, and Belmar illustrate the trend toward mixed-use retail areas. From December 2004.
Commentary: Horrors! New Urbanism is so American
On October 12 the Providence Journal published an essay portraying Mashpee Commons — the best-known example of New Urbanism on Cape Cod — as a fancy, automobile-dependent shopping center that simply masquerades as a traditional town center. From December 2004.
Oct/Nov 2004
Transit-oriented development is going strong, according to study
TOD boosts transit ridership and land values — but more proof is needed before other economic and social benefits can be claimed, the authors state. From Oct/Nov 2004.
Prince Charles reasserts need for traditional town design principles
Heir to the British throne views his Poundbury development as a way of “healing” the 20th century’s wounds. From Oct/Nov 2004.
Search is underway for accord on ‘visitability’
CNU leaders and disability-rights advocates hope to resolve contention over houses that impede the physically impaired. From Oct/Nov 2004.
Commentary: I love freedom; it’s sprawl I hate
I have to admit that I sometimes get a smug, proprietary feeling about our 2004 Volkswagen. It looks and runs great. I like the freedom of picking a place on a map and being able to get there in comfort and style. From Oct/Nov 2004.
September 2004
Security mindset threatens civic design
Ways are sought to protect buildings and their occupants without seriously damaging urban livability. From September 2004.
Factory-built housing: way to affordability?
The potential grows for using manufactured and modular units in new urban developments. From September 2004.
Urban funds target development
Projects move forward in New Mexico, Florida, and soon New Jersey. From September 2004.
Commentary: Urban fallout in American war on terrorism
The federal government’s “war on terrorism” runs a large risk of reversing some of the gains that American city centers have made over the past quarter-century. From September 2004.
Jul/Aug 2004
Freeway razing sets stage for development
The Milwaukee Common Council approved a plan on June 15 for redeveloping a mile-long corridor on an edge of downtown where the blighting influence of the Park East Freeway has been eliminated. From Jul/Aug 2004.
A tale of two ballparks
While the Padres’ Petco Park anchors an emerging neighborhood, the Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park dissipates its energy among parking lots. From Jul/Aug 2004.
Brewer champions NU in Atlanta
Having made a fortune by founding the Internet service provider MindSpring, Charles Brewer is in an enviable situation: he’s able to develop a new urban project in Atlanta “without borrowing a dime.” From Jul/Aug 2004.
Commentary: The city that works, today
On the very day the Congress for the New Urbanism’s annual conference opened in Chicago — June 24 — the Census Bureau reported that the city’s population had declined between 2000 and 2003 after rising in the 1990s for the first time in 50 years. From Jul/Aug 2004.
June 2004
Charter Awards
If you want to look at the cutting edge of new urban ideas and techniques, the 2004 CNU Charter Awards are a good place to start. From June 2004.
Tradition-minded architects
A newly combined organization of classical and traditional designers is reaching out to building designers and homebuilders — and battling excess. From June 2004.
New model for waterfront town
Sandy Point in Edenton is the first project of the Fundfor New Urbanism. From June 2004.
Apr/May 2004
Should big boxes be part of the package?
Don't "just say no" to big boxes, marketing consultant Bob Gibbs urges fellow members of the Congress for the New Urbanism meeting in Chicago — thereby triggering an impromptu debate on whether CNU should help maake a place for K-Marts in the new urban scheme of things. From Apr/May 2004.
Old digs, new tricks
A misbegotten modernist housing development gone to seed inspires new urban visions of alternative futures for ailing neighborhoods during a high-profile Providence, RI charrette. From Apr/May 2004.
March 2004
Turnover at Celebration
The sale of Celebration's town center means that the Disney Company's long-anticipated phaseout has begun. The buyer, Lexin Capital, has promised to uphold the community's architectural design standards and continue its traditional calendar of main street events. From March 2004.
Bridging the gap
How has Nashville achieved a consensus among diverse community interests that has enabled it to foster improved urban design? Much of the credit belongs to its Civic Design Center which ensures broad-based participation while promoting creative ideas. A shining example: the elegant lighting that adorns the Shelby Street pedestrian-and-bicycle bridge. From March 2004.
To live and drive in L.A.
Traffic is hell in the City of Angels. But a new regional plan in the making coordinates land use and transportation around new urban principles to save Southern California from mobility meltdown. From March 2004.
Jan/Feb 2004
Happy NU Year
New Urban News year-end survey finds 37 percent annual growth in new urban planning and construction. From Jan/Feb 2004.
EPA salutes Navy TND
Environmental Protection Agency smart growth award cites Torti Gallas design for US Navy's Village at NTC, an affordable housing TND on San Diego Bay. From Jan/Feb 2004.
Krier move
Award-winning urban designer Leon Krier (rhymes with "career") has achieved celebrity for his part in the creation of landmark new urban communities in Europe and America. Now, he's making his US debut in a leading role, heading up the Heritage Partners design team for Chico, California's Meriam Park TND. From Jan/Feb 2004.
December 2003
Towering Achievement
Vancouver's soaring "point towers" show New Urbanism's potential to incorporate modernist design concepts in the creation of esthetically pleasing and pedestrian-friendly streetscapes. From Dec 2003.
Chain Reaction
Communities ponder how to sustain distinctive shopping districts when chain stores overwhelm independent merchants. From Dec 2003.
Model Behavior
Boulder, Colorado has crafted two Charter Award-winning projects and a host of infill developments that are worthy of emulation. From Dec 2003.
Oct/Nov 2003
Getting Centered
Mixed-use urban centers are “hot” in the development industry, yet they require far more skill to pull off successfully than the typical suburban shopping center, office park, or apartment complex. Developers are thirsting for guidance, and they will find a lot of that in the newly published second edition of ULI’s Mixed-Use Development Handbook. From Oct/Nov 2003.
What's in store for new urban supermarkets?
Grocers are discovering that if they build a better food store, customers will beat a path to their door — or, in some instances, to their basement parking garage. A growing number of supermarket companies will operate stores that come up to the sidewalk, that have small shops along their perimeter, and even offer parking underneath. From Oct/Nov 2003.
Empty Providence buildings fill up again
Providence, Rhode Island, is blessed with ornate, well-crafted buildings and a downtown that could be a paradise for pedestrians. Now the city of 174,000 is experiencing a welcome burst of office-to-residential conversions. From Oct/Nov 2003.
September 2003
Old-style ballparks, fronting on urban streets, spur in-city living
"Context-based" baseball stadiums generate vibrant mixed-use districts despite critics' questions about "retro" style. From September 2003.
TOD times five: How the subway revived a VA suburb
Arlington county's Rosslyn-Ballston corridor has sprouted nearly 18,000 dwellings and almost 14 million square feet of offices, thanks largely to commuter rail. From September 2003.
Jul/Aug 2003
Light rail and a real downtown for Kentlands?
The iconic new urban community is set for more changes in the coming decade, according to a plan created recently by the original design team... From Jul/Aug 2003.
John Norquist to lead CNU as it moves to Chicago
Milwaukee Mayor John O. Norquist’s selection as the incoming president and chief executive officer of the Congress for New Urbanism provided a dramatic finale to CNU XI in Washington, DC, June 22. In his fourth term, Norquist is the longest-serving current mayor of any US city with a population exceeding 500,000. CNU Board Chair Hank Dittmar announced that the organization will begin moving its headquarters to Chicago, but will retain an office in San Francisco, where it has been based since its founding in 1993. From Jul/Aug 2003.
June 2003
Lessons of a satellite city
Transit-oriented development, new retailing, and a changing populace brought Evanston, Illinois, to life. From June 2003.
‘Context-sensitive design’ makes headway
Pedestrians and community concerns are increasingly influencing street and roadway design, but change runs into resistance. From June 2003.
Apr/May 2003
Surveys find strong sales, occupancy in town centers
The strength of new urban town centers goes well beyond competitive retail sales -- it also includes unexpectedly high demand for live/work housing and an increasing number of employers who want to locate in more urban settings. Many town centers are already outstripping conventional suburban real estate projects, according to real estate writer Charles Lockwood .... From Apr/May 2003.
The right attacks smart growth and New Urbanism
Watch out. A national attack on smart growth and New Urbanism is under way — organized by libertarian and free-market ideologues and led by economist Randal O’Toole. From Apr/May 2003.
World Trade Center doubt: does design match rhetoric?
Tragedy, in contemporary America, frequently is followed by farce. Thus, in February, 17 months after 3,000 people perished in the attack on the World Trade Center, avant-garde architect Peter Eisenman claimed his proposal for rebuilding on the site was rejected not because there was anything wrong with it, but because the influence of New Urbanism undercut its acceptance .... From Apr/May 2003.
March 2003
New urbanists urge Uncle Sam: ‘Don’t abandon HOPE’
Urban developers and low-income housing advocates reacted with dismay to the Bush Administration’s proposal in February to phase out the federal HOPE VI program. The roughly $4.5 billion allocated to HOPE VI over the past decade has ushered in the planning or construction of dozens of mixed-income housing developments that rely — to varying degrees — on new urban principles. The federal funds spigot may go dry, however, on October 1. The Bush Administration wants to terminate the program that has been the most far-reaching tool for applying new urban planning and design ideas to distressed city neighborhoods. From March 2003.
Smart Growth equals smart money for New Jersey Municipality
When Washington Township, NJ set about planning its town center as a neo-traditional development, local leaders were hoping to create a better quality of life than typical suburban zoning could provide. Early numbers seem to indicate that they may also be creating fiscal sustainability even they couldn’t imagine. From March 2003.
Jan/Feb 2003
Growing focus on Health should aid New Urbanism
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s campaign to reform Americans’ unhealthy way of life is growing into an impressively well- financed effort — one that should help New Urbanism in at least two important ways. From Jan/Feb 2003.
America must urbanize as the population ages
Demand for houses within walking distance of stores and other amenities is much stronger than most communities realize, says Dowell Myers, co-author of a recent examination of American housing preferences. And as the number of people over age 45 increases, the desire for walkable neighborhoods will grow significantly. “My overall estimate is that demand will be twice as great in this decade as in the ’90s,” he says. From Jan/Feb 2003.
December 2002
New Mexico project will take a lifetime
A new urban project so immensethat it may take 70 years to complete is envisioned for the southeastern section of Albuquerque. From Dec 2002.
Wal-Mart, other big boxes, join Main Street
Wal-Mart, the king of discount superstores on suburban commercial strips, has apparently discovered a new market — city dwellers. Wal-Mart recently opened a store in a mixed-use, urban location in Long Beach, California, without the usual sea of parking in front. Instead the parking will be in two nearby garages. In Dallas, plans are under way for a two-story building with underground parking and a “storefront facade,” according to a recent article in the industry publication Shopping Centers Today. From Dec 2002.
Oct/Nov 2002
The devil in the details
Municipalities in the Toronto area are promoting New Urbanism — but struggling to get the details right. Metropolitan Toronto is growing by 100,000 people a year and is the site of some of the most ambitious New Urbanism in the suburbs anywhere in North America. Much of this is happening in the City of Markham, which has changed its development pattern more radically than just about any other suburban municipality. And yet, some critics see an almost mechanical uniformity to the Toronto region’s New Urbanism. From Oct/Nov 2002.
Making mixed-income housing work: the low-income units must look good
Raymond Gindroz, principal in Urban Design Associates in Pittsburgh, and Willie Jones, senior vice president of The Community Builders in Boston, offered recommendations during an August 20 audio seminar on affordable New Urbanism, sponsored by New Urban News. From Oct/Nov 2002.
September 2002
Study demonstrates roundabouts' safety
A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has determined that roundabouts — popular among many New Urbanist designers — are much safer than other kinds of intersections. The Institute examined 24 intersections in eight states that were converted from stop signs or traffic signals between 1992 and 1997. The results that emerged are remarkably favorable:
• Vehicular accidents overall declined 39 percent.
• Accidents resulting in injuries fell 76 percent.
• Accidents resulting in death or incapacitating injury plunged 90 percent. From September 2002.
TNDs vs. the “California hybrid”
Through the 1990s in the Golden State, New Urbanism has influenced the design of many good, relatively small infill projects and a handful of massive master planned communities. The latter incorporate some urban aspects, yet retain fundamental characteristics of conventional suburbia, e.g. curvy, cul-de-sac-laden street networks. Developer Tom DiGiovanni labels that type of project the “California hybrid.” Advocates of New Urbanism in California have been left with a dearth of models outside of cities — and some projects touted as smart growth include elements that new urbanists would be loath to emulate. Now that may be changing with a handful of traditional neighborhood developments (TNDs) that come closer to illustrating a new urban approach on a greenfield site. From September 2002.
Jul/Aug 2002
Human-scale shopping still elusive in the suburbs; Calthorpe and Beyard propose solutions
The stores and shopping centers on America’s roadsides are being abandoned so quickly by retailers that residents of nearby neighborhoods are growing alarmed. Meanwhile, a favorite new urbanist vision of shopping — the idea of tucking commercial areas into the centers of walkable new suburban developments — is proving difficult to carry out. Consequently, CNU X in Miami Beach brought an explosion of ideas about how to organize roads and shopping into a form that’s both humanly appealing and economically realistic. Regional thinker Peter Calthorpe and Urban Land Institute retail expert Michael Beyard approached the problem of roads and retailing from differing perspectives. From Jul/Aug 2002.
Buyer choice in Tampa
West Park Village and Longleaf — about 15 miles apart in the Tampa/St. Petersburg region — are two of a new generation of traditional neighborhood developments (TNDs). Both started construction in the late 1990s, giving Tampa homebuyers and renters two sizable projects that fit within new urban guidelines. From Jul/Aug 2002.
June 2002
New Urbanism key to saving coastal ecology, report says
Current development patterns, if continued for just two more decades, will cause irreversible damage to the US coastal environment, according to a recent report funded by the Pew Oceans Commission. The report, “Coastal Sprawl: the Effects of Urban Design on Aquatic Ecosystems in the United States,” notes that 25 percent of the acreage along the nation’s coast will be developed by 2025, up from 14 percent five years ago. From June 2002.
Orenco Station residents like higher-density life
A new survey finds social cohesion and above average use of transit among residents in the Hillsboro, Oregon, community. The lots are smaller and the prices generally higher than in conventional Portland suburbs, but residents of Orenco Station, located on the city’s West Side MAX light rail line, like what they get in return. That’s the conclusion sociologist Bruce Podobnik of Lewis and Clark College in Portland draws from a recent survey of residents. From June 2002.
Apr/May 2002
Survey indicates a small drop in NU home sales
Sales in 14 selected new urban projects cooled off by 4.5 percent in 2001, after they rose 34 percent in 2000. After a year characterized by turmoil, uncertainty, and low interest rates, the picture emerging from New Urban News’ annual survey of home sales is decidedly more mixed than in 2000. Six of the 14 projects experienced a drop in sales, while four picked up activity and three remained essentially the same. Nationally, a record 900,000 new single-family homes were sold in 2001, a 2.6 percent increase over 2000. From Apr/May 2002.
New Urbanism makes inroads in Germany
The German landscape still has plenty of what new urbanists in the US find most desirable: compact cities and towns and clear distinctions between urban and rural areas. But along major highways and on the outskirts of cities such as Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Dortmund, Leipzig and Berlin, auto-oriented and fragmented development is increasingly common. Harald Kegler and Harald Bodenschatz are watching the trends closely and are working to make the New Urbanism (NU) part of the debate about how to preserve the central cities, expand the suburbs, and reuse industrial land. From Apr/May 2002.
March 2002
New urban plan saves rock icon
An innovative design to save the Stone Pony — an early Bruce Springsteen venue — is a key part of a massive revitalization effort for Asbury Park, New Jersey. From March 2002.
Orlando Naval Training Center redevelopment begins
Since the Pentagon designated the Naval Training Center for closure in 1993, this 1,100-acre site has been the subject of one the nation’s most extensive public planning initiatives. It’s been a long road, but Baldwin Park, a series of interconnected neighborhoods anchored by a mixed-use town center and built around lakes and wetlands, promises to be the most significant infill and reuse development in Florida. From March 2002.
Jan/Feb 2002
Most new urban communities get bus service
The bus is the most frequently used mode of public transportation in the US today, but in transit-oriented development planning the bus tends to play second fiddle to light rail or commuter rail. On the ground, however, the bus has quietly become the first transportation alternative in many new neighborhoods. In a survey of 19 projects with significant portions complete, New Urban News found 16 communities (84 percent) served by buses that give residents the choice to travel to employment centers, other forms of public transit, and downtown amenities. Yet problems persist with acceptance and service, particularly in greenfield developments. From Jan/Feb 2002.
Hope VI funds new urban neighborhoods
The first major round of US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Hope VI grants under the Bush Administration, totaling nearly $500 million, focuses on principles of the New Urbanism. The latest round of grants shows that the program, developed under the Clinton administration, is moving forward with goals and techniques intact. From Jan/Feb 2002.
December 2001
Granny flats add flexibility and affordability
Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) appear under many aliases — granny flats, garage apartments, carriage houses, ancillary units — and they almost invariably show up on a checklist of what sets new urban communities apart from conventional subdivisions. They are by no means ubiquitous, but developers from diverse projects report that granny flats have become a popular amenity and an important selling point. From December 2001.
Oct/Nov 2001
New urbanist project construction starts soar
Neighborhood-scale projects completed or under construction rose by 37 percent in 2001, turning new urbanist plans into reality at an unprecedented rate. Such a high rate of growth is not likely to be sustained in the coming years. However, the jump in projects under construction may also represent a growing confidence in the economic viability of the New Urbanism in its diverse incarnations. The fact that the public sector increasingly supports this kind of development has been crucial to make lenders and developers more comfortable with engaging in mixed-use projects. From Oct/Nov 2001.
September 2001
The real second generation
For perhaps the first time in the movement’s history, a significant number of projects are moving forward with the full support of public officials combined with financially backed developers who really want to do the New Urbanism (NU). These projects will be test cases, where no one will be able to hide behind excuses. If generations are measured by the challenges they face, then virtually all of the previous projects can be categorized as “first generation.” The second generation, or at least its vanguard, is on the way. In this article we examine eight projects that really stand on the shoulders of the pioneering new urbanist efforts of the 1980s and 1990s. From September 2001.
Jul/Aug 2001
NU shapes regional plans
For the past 10 years, the New Urbanism has been primarily defined by individual projects, built in reaction to the reigning auto-oriented, single-use planning policies. Now, new urbanists are increasingly creating the context in which such projects are built, using the tools of regional plans or other multimunicipal planning initiatives. The individual projects are invaluable as models, places where anyone can see new urbanist principles in action, but the large-scale initiatives help the New Urbanism effect systemic change. From Jul/Aug 2001.
Apr/May 2001
A banner year for NU home sales
With the stock market in a tailspin and housing starts in decline nationally, there is room for concern that the downturn in the economy will affect the rate of sales in new urbanist communities in the coming years. But almost all the 15 projects that took part in New Urban News’ second annual survey of homes sales entered 2001 with a strong record of sales for the past year.
Keeping in mind that sales figures are tabulated in various ways across the projects, and that the dynamics of local markets differ greatly, the survey does provide a snapshot of the demand for new urbanist housing. In the 12 projects where sales were up from 1999, the average increase amounted to 47 percent. From Apr/May 2001.
Westbury redefines public housing in Portsmouth
Just a few blocks from downtown and adjacent to I-264 in Portsmouth, Virginia, a new neighborhood of vibrantly colored, traditionally designed single and duplex homes is rising on a site formerly occupied by a dismal public housing project. Replacing the housing project Ida Barbour, Westbury is a mixture of public housing and affordable for-sale and rental properties. It is shaping up to be a successful model of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) recent philosophy of replacing public housing with mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods. From Apr/May 2001.
March 2001
Flex house goes mainstream
Aided by computers, fax machines, and modems, nearly 20 million US citizens operate a home business. The New Urbanism, with its emphasis on mixing uses and reducing distance between home, work, and play, is at the forefront of finding design solutions for the growing work at home trend
The live/work unit — more recently called the “flex” house — had its roots in two ideas. The first was the resurrection of the main street shopfront, an at-grade townhouse with the first floor designed for commercial. The second idea was the conversion of old factory and warehouse buildings into lofts for artists, which led to the construction of similar new townhouse and courtyard lofts. Early examples are Thomas Dolan’s Oakland live/works and the Second Street Studios in Santa Fe, New Mexico, designed by Peter Calthorpe. Loft units usually have no physical separation between work and living, and are built for maximum flexibility inside. From March 2001.
Jan/Feb 2001
Consistent market found for NU
Everyone involved in building the New Urbanism (NU) — designers, developers, and financial backers — would like to know just how many consumers would prefer compact, pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods if the choice were available to them. Robert Charles Lesser & Co (RCLCO), one of the nation’s leading real estate advisory firms, has conducted consumer studies for developers of new urbanist and hybrid projects. Managing Director Gregg Logan of RCLCO’s Atlanta office says that studies in cities as diverse as Atlanta, Phoenix, Denver, Provo, Albuquerque, Boise, and Chattanooga show that a consistent 25-33 percent of respondents would seriously consider buying a home in a new urbanist setting. From Jan/Feb 2001.
December 2000
Maryland smart growth laws having an impact
Maryland’s smart growth initiative helped to spark a national debate on land use shortly after it went into effect in 1998, but the impact within the state was not immediately apparent. Signs of significant change are now emerging.
New state-funded schools and civic buildings are going up in city centers instead of in the suburbs. The state has stopped or retooled road projects inconsistent with smart growth and budgeted more money for the preservation of open space. In downtown Silver Spring, private developers are building a new mixed-use core with a new urbanist design, and plans for transit- oriented developments are moving off the drawing board. From December 2000.
September 2000
Transect applied to regional plans
The Transect, a new model for planning and coding the New Urbanism, is beginning to be employed in regional planning. Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ) recently used the Transect as the basis to create a plan and code for Onondaga County, New York. A regional planning effort by Torti Gallas & Partners, completed in March, 2000, was based entirely on the Transect. From September 2000.
Using vinyl creatively
Developers and designers are exploring ways to incorporate vinyl siding into human-scale neighborhoods without destroying the streetscape. From September 2000.
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