New Urbanism has been given a bad rap, according to co-founder Andres Duany. In this piece for Metropolis he sets the record straight.
Arguing that the goals and the impact of the New Urbanism have been misconstrued and misrepresented, Duany offers a rundown of the movement's accomplishments.
"The otherwise omniscient Kenneth Frampton was recently heard to say, "The New Urbanists are they still around?" "They make porches for white Southerners, don't they?" is Rodolfo Machado's joshing version. Unfortunately, architecture students from our elite schools believe this more easily than the truth: New Urbanists wrote HUD's HOPE VI standards and are thereby responsible for about 111,000 new and renovated units of affordable housing-virtually the entire supply of the last 15 years, with a good proportion designed by CNU members. As far as the idea that the New Urbanists have been relegated to small-bore housework, Calthorpe and John Fregonese's firm alone is responsible for virtually all of the regional planning west of the Alleghenies-which is to say most of the regional planning in this country."
FULL STORY: New Urbanism | The Case for Looking Beyond Style
Northwest Arkansas grapples with growth as it prepares to host New Urbanism gathering
A compelling story of a fast-growing, polycentric region grappling with identity and affordability, Susan Henderson reframes CNU 34 as a hands-on workshop, inviting planners to explore Northwest Arkansas as it decides what it will become.
Two Cheers For the Planners’ Pledge
A “Planners’ Pledge” created by some of the leading authorities on planning sets forth a bold urbanist agenda- even if not every idea in the pledge is equally useful in all cities.
A Better Understanding of Smart Growth Benefits
Smart Growth creates compact, multimodal communities where residents consume less land, drive less, and rely more on non-auto modes. Planners have important stories to tell about the benefits of Smart Growth.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association