CNU envisions a world where cities, towns, and neighborhoods are intentionally designed and managed to foster community, preserve the natural environment, and improve the lives of all people.
The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) is a member-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit championing better design of cities and towns to improve lives and strengthen communities for all. For over thirty years, CNU has been the leading organization in reforming city-building across the country, gathering the broad spectrum of practitioners and advocates who share our mission.
OUR MISSION
CNU is dedicated to making the design of cities, towns, and neighborhoods a part of how we respond to complex societal challenges, realizing their full potential to expand the social, economic, and environmental opportunities available to all members of each community. By highlighting effective design principles and lowering barriers to change, CNU amplifies the grassroots power of our thousands of members to build and rebuild their communities in ways that improve sustainability, increase accessibility, and promote equity.
OUR PRIORITIES
In January 2024, we updated our strategic plan to provide a path for addressing CNU’s priorities for impact over the next three years.
Reform Detrimental Regulations. Outdated city-building regulations are one of the main institutional barriers preventing communities from making meaningful changes to the urbanism of their cities, towns, and neighborhoods. CNU will work to reform these regulations across the nation at every level of governance.
Equalize Access to Affordable Urbanism. The rising unaffordability, segregation, and displacement in our cities in the wake of urban reinvestment has and continues to disproportionately impact the most vulnerable and marginalized groups. CNU will proactively center equity within our city-building work, and develop bolder initiatives that address underlying barriers to urban affordability and housing access.
Respond to the Rapidly Changing Climate. The complex challenge of responding to an ever-changing global climate requires a multi-disciplinary, multi-scaled, multi-beneficial plan to encourage comprehensive change in our communities. CNU will elevate and prioritize the design of resilient neighborhoods, towns, and cities in the face of the unpredictable impacts of climate change.
OUR APPROACH
Over the next three years, CNU will accomplish our long-term objectives by:
Convening. CNU leverages the strengths of our staff, membership, and allies to convene a broad spectrum of multidisciplinary practitioners and advocates who work on reforming city-building, to accelerate change in communities across the US and beyond.
Educating. CNU shares best practices in urban design, policy, and implementation, opening doors for our members to enact meaningful change in their communities.
Collaborating. CNU uses our convening and networking capacity to amplify the grassroots power of our change-making members working to build and rebuild their cities in ways that improve sustainability, accessibility, and equity for years to come.
With nineteen state and regional chapters and headquarters in Washington, DC, CNU works to unite the New Urbanist movement. Our movement includes professionals, leaders, advocates, citizens, and other like-minded organizations working to identify and address the range of issues impeding the development and redevelopment of well-designed neighborhoods, public places, commercial corridors and rural environments.