Writing on the recent Congress for the New Urbanism annual meeting, Grist's Sarah Goodyear finds some new ideas in a field that's gradually integrated itself into the mainstream.
Smaller-scale projects are increasingly the favored approach for the younger class of New Urbanists.
"[T]here were a lot of young people at the conference -- planners, architects, engineers -- who are excited about taking urbanism forward. Members of the CNU NextGen group could often be found at a rundown rented storefront they christened the Urban Project Lodge, about a mile from the glossy Monona Terrace convention center where the official panels were happening. The Project Lodge was filled with conversation and argument and ideas (also, lots of beer and free wifi).
Many of the people who hung around the Project Lodge are interested in urban improvement projects that can be done fast, and flexibly, and cheap. They realize that in this economic environment, huge projects and ambitious master plans -- the kind of thing that has defined New Urbanism to some extent -- are unlikely to be completed in large numbers."
Read the full story: The new New Urbanism: Fast, nimble, flexible, and tactical
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.
Deconstructing Saint Jane
The iconic urban thinker has influenced generations of planners, but how do her ideas hold up in an age of massive upheaval and economic inequality?
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority