New urbanists to leave mark on DC

CNU XI descends on the capital. From the L'Enfant Plan to greenbelt towns, urban renewal, and Kentlands, the District of Columbia has served as a laboratory for planning and design theories. This summer, the city can expect another infusion of urbanist thought as the eleventh Congress for the New Urbanism arrives, June 19 to 22. The Congress is the annual gathering of new urbanists, including urban planners, architects, public officials, and real estate developers. The first Congress was held in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1993. Since then, this event has grown into the nation's top venue for the discussion and exposure of new ideas about how to design, build, and market diverse, mixed-use neighborhoods. The theme of the eleventh Congress, Ideals to Realities: The Evolving City, is inspired by the history and urban form of the District of Columbia. It will explore how cities and regions change and adapt over time and how ideas and government action influence urban form. The conference's local host committee includes top local architects and policy leaders. They have written what attendees can expect to learn from the region's history: "Some local efforts have withstood the passage of time and endured, while others have demonstrated futile attempts to shape better living through physical design. Ideals to Realities will examine what New Urbanism can learn from both the successful and failed design movements that have shaped Washington and other regions." Sessions for Beginners and Old-Timers A half-day course, New Urbanism 101, will introduce newcomers to the movement's ideas. These ideas are all contained in the Charter of the New Urbanism, which was written at the first four Congresses. The ideas include regional planning; walkable, mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods; buildings that face the street; and greenbelts that preserve agriculture and wilderness close to cities. This year's course is to be oriented toward people in the political arena, especially members of Congress and their staffs. For more experienced urbanists, advanced sessions will look into the possibility of writing an alternative street design manual, land use laws that support good design, quantitative measurement of urbanism, and a health-oriented session on the creation of "pedestrian-seductive" places. Tours at the Congress will visit downtown Reston, Virginia; downtown Bethesda, Maryland; and mixed-income development in Baltimore. Proposed sessions include examinations of improving campus-town connections, single-use districts, and neighborhood commercial corridors. The Smart Growth and sustainability movements will also get their chances to present their latest news. Policy and politics Over the years, Congresses for the New Urbanism have focused on many aspects of urban development. This year's conference, taking place just miles from where the nation's infrastructure funding bills are written, will inevitably touch on national policies. Because transportation affects urban form, organizers expect participants to have particular interest in this bill. Locally, the Congress will leave in its wake an educated, demanding group of citizens. Previous Congress host cities have included Toronto, Denver, and Miami Beach. In each location, local residents have been left with a deeper understanding of what kind of development is possible — and how to get it. Their heightened demands have led to an increase in new urban development in each city.