Archives
Welcome to the archives of Better Cities & Towns, a publication founded by Robert Steuteville as New Urban News in 1996. This archive holds two decades of the best news and analysis on compact, mixed-use growth and development, from 1996 to 2015.
Geoffrey Anderson, who had headed the smart-growth program of the US Environmental Protection Agency since 2000, has been chosen to lead the advocacy group Smart Growth America. He will start work Jan. 21 as Smart Growth America’s president and CEO...
An analysis of 11 Midwestern metro areas suggests that when population density is increased by 10 percent, household vehicle travel and emissions decline by 3.5 percent. “We found compactness to be associated with greater reductions in vehicle...
The US Green Building Council has launched the Educational Provider Program, which will give building professionals a course catalog of green building educational programs. The educational offerings have been peer-reviewed and approved by the...
Crosland LLC, developer of mixed-use communities such as Birkdale Village in Huntersville, North Carolina, has teamed up with Northwestern Mutual to create the Southeastern Investment Fund. The new fund is expected to have $225 million for land...
The City of Duluth, Minnesota, has received a $170,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and a $40,000 grant from the Minnesota Lake Superior Coastal Program to help create a new Unified Development Code. The code will update the...
Torti Gallas tells how it incorporated sustainability traits into its projects.“Is New Urbanism inherently sustainable? Only partly,” says Tom Gallas, partner and chief business strategist at Torti Gallas and Partners. That’s why the Silver Spring,...
Out of the Ivory Tower and Into the Streets By Judith Rodin Review by Philip Langdon
Planners from Dover, Kohl & Partners of Coral Gables, Florida, spent more than a week in the Spring Hill area of Mobile, Alabama, working with residents, city planners, and traffic engineers on changes to three major intersections. The Press-...
Rather than see the school board in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, replace the city’s five neighborhood elementary schools with one mega-school containing 1,800 students, Tom Hylton helped launch a campaign that defeated five incumbent school board...
After 13 years as New Mexico’s de facto state planner, Ken Hughes has moved to a new position as clean energy specialist in the state’s Energy Department. “Smart growth is an area I brought over with me, so I continue to keep a handle on the subject...
Ben Starrett at the Funders’ Network says his organization is putting together a funders working group that will focus on climate change, land use, and transportation. “Lots of climate funders are working on various pieces of the carbon emissions...
Lawmakers in Colorado are considering a fee on gas-guzzling vehicles to fund smart growth efforts, according to a December 5 report in The Denver Post. The idea would be to impose a fee estimated at $80 on the purchase of new light trucks and SUVs...