Congress for the New Urbanism

Next Tuesday, August 20 at 12pm ET, join us for our next On the Park Bench webinar: “Author's Forum: Sustainable Urban Design Handbook.” Author Nico Larco will share this comprehensive framework that serves as an on-going reference for anyone involved in the creation of sustainable urban environments.

As always, this webinar is available for 1 AICP continuing education credit if viewed live as well as 1 CNU-A continuing education credit if viewed live or recorded.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__5g8LO3HTAisB6LwGV0Zsw

Governments, business groups, community development corporations, foundations, and designers need to recognize church closures for the urban planning and development crisis they are.

Tsunami of church closings poses crisis and opportunity

Know of a Form-Based Code that advances equitable, people-oriented, and predictable development results by supporting mobility options, walkability, and creating vibrant public spaces? Nominate a code to earn national recognition in this year’s Form-Based Codes Institute Award:

The Form-Based Codes Award - Smart Growth America Smart Growth America (SGA) is pleased to announce the return of the Form-Based Codes Award, now in its 17th year. As a program of SGA, the Form-Based Codes Institute has supported the FBC Award program to recognize exemplary form-based codes that advance the practice of form-based zoning for equitab...

Nicely proportioned Bergen Square in Jersey City received a road diet, new public space, traffic calming and other upgrades.

Historic square gets new urban makeover

Earlier this year, LA secured 900 million dollars in federal funding for public transportation improvements ahead of the 2028 Olympics. Communities must support the policies and lead the discussion of solutions for transforming LA’s sprawl for high-level ideas to become a successful reality.

Transforming LA’s sprawl: a community call to action Communities must support the policies and lead the discussion of solutions for transforming LA’s sprawl for high-level ideas to become a successful reality.

Street trees have long been connected to many positive outcomes like reducing urban heat islands, improving traffic safety, cutting air pollution and raising property values. There is also a direct statistical connection between planting street trees and lower mortality.

The life-saving benefits of street trees A US Forest Service study indicates that street trees save lives and provide direct health benefits that far outweigh the costs of planting and maintenance.

Pike and Rose is a new transit-oriented downtown in Montgomery County, Maryland, with a botanical public realm.

Suburban retrofit with a focus on green

Thank you for following along as we celebrated the 27 principles of the Charter of the . Explore the principles based on scale on our YouTube channel:

CNU 30th Anniversary We're celebrating 30 years of the Congress for the New Urbanism! Explore these videos to learn more about our history and principles.

Here is the final principle of the Charter of the found at the scale of The Block, The Street, and The Building!
Attendees saw Principle 27 in action as this year's Congress Focus on Restorative Urbanism.
27/27
https://www.cnu.org/cnu32/focus

We're exploring the 27 Charter Principles of the Charter of the . The principles are organized by scale, including The Block, The Street, and The Building.
26/27
https://www.cnu.org/who-we-are/charter-new-urbanism

The complex challenge of responding to a rapidly changing climate requires a multi-disciplinary, multi-scaled, multi-beneficial plan to encourage comprehensive change in our communities.
As cities get hotter, is it time to revisit the controversial concept of the air-conditioned "pedway"?

How Far Should Cities Go to Keep Walkers Cool? — Streetsblog USA As cities get hotter, is it time to revisit the controversial concept of the air-conditioned "pedway" — even if it means leaving the streets to drivers and costs as much as adding a lane?

Principles at The Block, The Street, and The Building scale guide public policy, development practice, urban planning, and design.
25/27
Learn more: https://www.cnu.org/who-we-are/charter-new-urbanism

Small-scale mixed-use buildings are popular in Norton Commons, a new urbanist community in Louisville; here’s the latest example.

Bringing back the lost art of Main Street buildings

Explore Charter principles at the scale of The Block, The Street, and The Building.
Hearth: Memorial to the Enslaved at William & Mary won a Charter Award as a civic tribute to slaves who laid the foundations of one of America’s oldest colleges.
24/27
https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2023/05/24/civic-monument-enslaved

CNU provided insights during the drafting and review phase of the U.S. Department of Transportation Report to Congress: Decarbonizing U.S. Transportation, which expands on the recommendations in the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization: increase convenience, improve efficiency, and transition to clean options. Read the report:https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2024-07/Decarbonizing%20U.S.%20Transportation_July%202024.pdf

We hope you're following along as we delve into the 27 Charter principles of the Charter of the !
One scale found in the Charter is The Block, The Street, and The Building.
23/27

The Block, The Street, and The Building is one of three scales found in the Charter of the .
22/27
https://www.cnu.org/who-we-are/charter-new-urbanism

This principle of the Charter of the is found in The Block, The Street, and The Building scale.
The Borough won a Charter Award for a strikingly beautiful group of houses that brings an abandoned, resilient construction technique back to life.
21/27
https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2022/03/14/endearing-and-enduring-cottage-court-designed-last-millennium

A new urban approach yields economic benefits for small cities and towns like Phoenixville.

Small city revival in PA

: The Charter of the was ratified in 1996 and has since been translated into over a dozen languages. This principle is at the scale of The Block, The Street, and The Building.
20/27
https://www.cnu.org/who-we-are/charter-new-urbanism

We're celebrating the Charter of the . The final principle scale is The Block, The Street, and The Building.
19/27
https://www.cnu.org/who-we-are/charter-new-urbanism

Officials should consider the connections that were in place before the highway when planning to remove a mile-long Detroit Interstate in lieu of a surface street.

Looking to transform I-375 synergistically

Contemporary zoning envisions cities in a finished state—we need codes that constantly adapt to the changing urban landscape, which is the idea behind “metrocoalescence.”

An adaptable zoning proposal for walkable cities

Charter principles at The Neighborhood, The District, and The Corridor scale can help shape the built environment of the communities we love.
18/27
https://www.cnu.org/who-we-are/charter-new-urbanism

Groveland, Florida, has adopted a Dark Sky Lighting ordinance that preserves views of the Milky Way, saves energy, and enhances streetscapes.

City looks to the stars for lighting policy

We hope you're following along as we delve into the 27 Charter principles of the Charter of the ! This Charter principle is at the scale of The Neighborhood, The District, and The Corridor.
17/27
https://www.cnu.org/who-we-are/charter-new-urbanism

One scale found in the Charter of the is The Neighborhood, The District, and The Corridor.
The King Open/Cambridge Street Community Complex won a Charter Award for providing much-needed public spaces and inclusive facilities.
16/27
https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2020/05/29/civic-buildings-connect-street-park

The Lone Star State is at a unique historical point where rapidly increasing population may lead it down the same path as California. We have an opportunity to shape that growth.

‘Texasfornia,’ soon to be a reality, needs more mixed-use

We're exploring the 27 Charter Principles of the Charter of the . This principle is found in The Neighborhood, The District, and The Corridor scale.
Del Mar Station won an early Charter Award in 2003 and makes clear that the community is based on the train.
15/27
https://www.cnu.org/what-we-do/build-great-places/del-mar-station

Civic infrastructure is the collection of shared public places where Americans come together: our parks, trails, town squares, main streets, play spaces, libraries, and other public gathering spaces. These are the places that define and celebrate a region’s cultural identity, create a sense of belonging, and encourage Americans to gather, connect and better understand each other.

The Percent for Place coalition, of which CNU is a member, is advocating for increased federal funding of this key infrastructure that unites Americans.

Civic Infrastructure Unites Americans Federal legislators prioritize investments in gathering spaces in communities across the nation