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.
Conceived in the coastal misery of post-hurricane Mississippi, the Katrina Cottage is the house that refuses to be restricted to its native turf. On the last week of October, the latest version of this diminutive new urbanist dwelling opened a...
The most recent Technical Page outlined the idea of typology — an ordered assembly of building types — as a basis for making good urbanism. Any fully developed building type manifests three consistently characteristic aspects; its function, its...
The Arlington County Board in northern Virginia has approved two new projects that are expected to help revitalize the Columbia Pike by following the Pike’s three-year-old form-based code. One project is Penrose Square, which will include a Giant...
With the CNU board of directors finishing up a revised strategic plan to help it identify and accomplish critical future goals — including improving CNU’s effectiveness at the regional level and in the education of design and development...
The US EPA’s office of Policy, Economics and Innovation is studying the effect of school location and urban form on transportation choices. It’s part of an effort to reform school design standards that contribute to sprawl. Travel to and from school...
Timothy Rood, who coordinated Louisiana’s post-hurricane planning as a principal at Calthorpe Associates, has left Calthorpe to become a partner in Community Design + Architecture in Oakland, California. He will continue consulting for Forest City...
The redevelopment of “Old Town” in Wichita, Kansas, and the revival of downtown Winooski, Vermont, were among five projects across the nation that won National Awards for Smart Growth Achievement from the US Environmental Protection Agency Nov. 15...
NorthPoint project combines pedestrian-oriented features and contemporary architectural expression.A 15-year project that calls for building 2,700 housing units and 2.2 million square feet of commercial space within walking distance of two rail...
York Township, Pennsylvania, approved a traditional neighborhood development (TND) ordinance in 2005 and now the municipality has five TND projects proposed, all adjacent and connected to one another, according to Will Selman, a new urbanist planner...
They’ve been called “mortgage helpers in the sky,” and they are a new twist on the granny flat. They are “flex suites,” or condominiums that are designed to be subdivided. Households can close off a portion of the unit, designed as a small...
CNU board treasurer Stephanie Bothwell has been selected as the second Orton Family Foundation Fellow. This relatively new fellowship program supports land-use innovation efforts in an attempt to encourage new approaches to the land use planning...
The City of Moss Point, Mississippi, adopted the SmartCode and the plan from the Mississippi Renewal Forum for the redevelopment of downtown in October, a year after the forum. The adoption allows the city to apply for funds to move the city hall...