The American Planning Association now has a

The American Planning Association now has a New Urbanism Division. Started by CNU members Rick Bernhardt and Gianni Longo, chairs of the Planners Task Force, it will bring New Urbanism into the APA mainstream. Dues for membership are $20 per year. Contact Rick Bernhardt at 615-862-7173 or rick_bernhardt@metro.nashville.org CNU is heavily involved in Smart Growth America, an umbrella group of environmental, social justice, and land use advocacy groups (see page 7). CNU is on the group’s steering committee, which is part of why the group’s publications consistently show New Urbanism as the real-world implementation of smart growth. The booklet “Greetings from Smart Growth America” was partially written by CNU. Coverage in newspapers around the country helped demonstrate to election-season politicians that smart growth is a winning issue. Appraisers are one of the many links in the chain of real estate development that new urbanists must educate in order to get projects off the ground. They tell bankers how much a project is likely to be worth, and therefore how much to loan out. Financing will be smoother once appraisers recognize the price premium for new urbanism. Thanks to CNU member Gary Zak, of Lend-Lease Real Estate Investments, the Northern California Appraisers’ Institute recently held a panel that included CNU members Dena Belzer and Ken Kay, along with Executive Director Shelley Poticha. Poticha reports, “There was an audible sigh of amazement when I mentioned that developers are actually building these projects. They had no idea.”