The North Central Texas chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) promotes walkable communities, availability and access to multi-modal transportation, and a range of housing choices and neighborhood types for all ages and income levels. We promote initiatives such as walkable school districts, infilling sprawl and retrofitting suburbia, and redesigning highways to boulevards through central cities. We advocate for local public policy, hold events for professionals and dedicated lay people, and believe the principles of urbanism are an essential part of any strategy to address municipal growth and decay, economics, housing inequality, crime, and sustainability of our cities.
As stated in the Charter of the Congress for the New Urbanism we believe, “neighborhoods should be diverse in use and population; communities should be designed for the pedestrian and transit as well as the car; cities and towns should be shaped by physically defined and universally accessible public spaces and community institutions; urban places should be framed by architecture and landscape design that celebrate local history, climate, ecology, and building practice.” We are the local arm of the national CNU that seeks to advance bipartisan reforms that deliver market-based improvements to the economy, the environment and public health. Initiatives work to remove codes, standards, and financial and tax incentives that act as obstacles to the creation of vibrant, healthy, value-driven and better-performing districts. Initiative work is based on tasks that can be completed within a specific timeframe and directly relate to CNU's strategic goals: Sustainability, Transportation, Regionalism, Affordability, Financing and Entitlements,and Accessibility and Visitability.
The board of directors and the chapter membership are comprised of civic-minded individuals from a variety of fields, including elected officials, real estate developers, urban planners, architects, and citizens who care about their neighborhood, their city, and the built environment. In both our private practice and in our work as a non-profit educational organization,we focus on getting great places built for people to live in and experience. We aim to affect policy changes in order to meet the demand for walkable places. Lastly, we hope to create a legacy of lasting value in our neighborhoods, and cities that can live beyond our lifetimes.