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.
By one estimate, roughly 1,500 new housing units are needed to build one new block of stores.
Many communities hunger these days for “Main Street retail” or “neighborhood retail.” Few, however, know how many households — and shoppers’ dollars —...
For three years, The Round at Beaverton, Oregon, was a high-profile poster child for the failure of a transit-oriented development (TOD). When opponents of transit wanted to show that the market rejects TOD, they showed pictures of The Round, where...
Widespread opposition to sprawl caused developers John and Leslye Wuerfel to cancel plans for building a 4,000-seat minor-league baseball park on 45 acres of farmland in Elmwood Township, near Traverse City, Michigan. “I think if you’re going to...
Document of core principles may expand to cover New Urbanism’s relationship to the environment and the Transect
The Charter of the New Urbanism is CNU’s proudest single achievement. Ratified at CNU IV in Charleston in 1996, the charter exposes...
Chicago architect Philip Bess is the new director of the graduate program in architecture at the University of Notre Dame. He hopes to introduce the craft of classical architecture and the form and politics of traditional urbanism into the school’s...
Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. proposed in early February that the state’s Office of Smart Growth be abolished. Its sprawl-fighting functions would be carried on by the Department of Planning. Chuck Gates in the Department of Planning said five...
The City of Claremont, California, has approved two development agreements with the Tolkin Group of Pasadena to expand and redevelop the city’s downtown. The Claremont Village Expansion project calls for 61,000 square feet of ground-level retail and...
Victoria Gardens — a new downtown for Rancho Cucamonga, California — broke ground in September 2003. Designed by Field Paoli, it is being developed by Forest City. Victoria Gardens will be anchored by three department stores, a movie theater, and a...
An article in the January-February New Urban News about a surge of redevelopment in long-depressed parts of Washington, DC, mistakenly described several projects — near 14th and U Streets, in the Howard University-LeDroit Park neighborhood, and...
The cranky path of a 2,500-year-old canal is the route that architect Bill Dennis has chosen for “Canal Walk,” the narrow main neighborhood street to be built in a Tucson development called Rio Nuevo. “The remains of the canal were found about six...
CNU is planning “a series of think tanks for the next six months” on housing issues, says board member Ray Gindroz, who was involved in formulating the federal HOPE VI program. “I think we need six months to figure out the answer to the question” of...
What can philanthropic foundations best do to revitalize troubled neighborhoods? Living Cities, a national organization based in Harlem, has begun seeking answers to that question. Four foundations involved in Living Cities have launched Pilot...