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.
People are willing to walk farther than is commonly believed, at least to reach rail transit, researchers at San Joseph State University say in a new report.
“Conventional wisdom among planners has been that pedestrians in the United States will...
A Romanian town with a famous castle hosts a charrette, and helps set a path for European architectural education.Prince Vlad the Impaler is thought to have visited a fortress that was begun in the 13th century in what is now the small Romanian town...
The Rosa Parks School in the New Columbia HOPE VI development in Portland, Oregon, has won this year’s Richard Riley Award for Schools as Centers of Community.
A series of similar studies in recent years have compared traditional neighborhood development (TND) to conventional suburban development (CSD) and found that higher density, a mixture of uses, and better connectivity reduce vehicle miles traveled (...
The Louisiana Housing Finance Agency approved a final contract proposal in late September for a consortium that plans to build more than 530 Louisiana Cottages and “Carpet Cottages” in locations devastated by the hurricanes of 2005. The New Orleans...
The National Charrette Institute is offering toolkits in CD-ROM format based on the NCI Charrette Planner and the NCI Complete Charrette Manager trainings. These kits contain the complete set of electronic forms and checklists, providing a step-by-...
Three new urban neighborhoods were designed in early July for developer Frank Liu in Houston, Texas, according to the Houston Chronicle. The projects were the first planned by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company in Houston. The sites include a 37-acre...
Over the past three years, CNU’s transportation task force has worked hard to reform engineering standards for major thoroughfares. Through a joint project with the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), CNU has been translating the principles...
Howard Blackson is now leading the [RE]Urbanism Group at Chong Partners Architecture, an urban design and architecture consulting office in San Diego. The office has had experience in producing public and private parking structures for infill mixed-...
The Urban Markets Initiative at Brookings Institution is setting up a website aimed at sharing information that will help urban communities function better. The Initiative identifies information gaps that impede business, nonprofit, and government...
Developing and managing retail centers remains one of the most risky of all real estate categories. Retailers must respond to ever-changing consumer trends and demands, while constantly fending off new competition. As a result, the retail industry...
By Jay WalljasperNew Society Publishers, 2007, 192 pp., $19.95 paperback.