The Atlantic talks with architect and planner Andres Duany about 30 years of the New Urbanism, and how the urban landscape of America has changed over that time.
"The Atlantic: How has the country--the national zeitgeist--changed since your first New Urbanist projects?
Andres Duany: When I first started practicing, there were no NIMBYs. I remember that developers were categorically admired--the people who brought us the housing and the offices and the shops that we needed. They brought us wealth. They brought us welcome neighborhoods. They pulled us away from a provincial poverty of all kinds. Everybody wanted to grow--growth had a really good name.
And of course, that's been reversed now, and people are suspicious of growth. What happened is that there was a betrayal of the vision of what suburbia was going to be like. And in fact it did not deliver the open space and the freedom to drive around and the nature that was promised. All of that was betrayed. The anger is extraordinary."
Duany also touches on the recent growth of "green" building, and bemoans the emphasis many builders and developers place on achieving green certifications.
Read the full story: The Man Who Reinvented the City
Barn-Raising For the 21st Century
An old-fashioned community barn-raising in Masonville, Texas could in fact be a glimpse of the future.
New HUD guidelines call for nixing green building requirements
The newly released 'best practices' advise local governments to streamline permitting processes, cap permitting fees and encourage by-right development of single-family homes.
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.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Data reveals that NYC’s bet on congestion pricing has paid off
After almost two years of the program, reports show positive impacts on traffic and air quality and no disruptions to parking.
HUD modernizes 50-year-old manufactured housing framework
The Next Generation Manufactured Housing Action Plan establishes new energy-efficiency standards for manufactured homes, and new guidelines for anchoring them.
Developers sue Mississippi landowners who object to pipeline through their land
Because the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the pipeline project, the developer can use private land without the consent of the owner.
A gas leak in NYC is costing residents $300 million
More than 90% of NYC’s electricity is from natural gas. About 2% of that gas is leaking and escaping into the air.
CA officials have the power to fix the state’s riskiest dams. They’ve never used it
California’s 40 most hazardous dams would endanger up to 1.5 million people if they failed.
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.
One Hundred Miles
County of Mendocino
planning NEXT
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority