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.
Sales in 14 selected new urban pro-jects cooled off by 4.5 percent in 2001, after they rose 34 percent in 2000. After a year characterized by tur- moil, uncertainty, and low interest rates, the picture emerging from New Urban News’ annual...
Architect Dhiru Thadani heads the new Town Planning Studio at the Washington office of Ayers Saint Gross. The firm specializes in university campus planning and architecture, and the new studio will focus on urban college town and research park...
If foundations that support the philosophy behind New Urbanism invested their endowments in these projects, they might provide an major source of capital for new urbanist projects. Financing is a persistent frustration for developers of new...
A parking garage and other infrastructure are under construction in Atlantic Station, the 140-acre reclamation of the Atlantic Steel Mill site in Midtown Atlanta (see December 2000 issue). Master developer Jacoby Development has yet to finalize an...
Green Street Properties of Atlanta, an infill development company started by former internet entrepreneur Charles Brewer, has filed plans for Glenwood Park, a 28-acre, mixed-use neighborhood on an abandoned industrial site two miles east of downtown...
The Board of County Commissioners in Sarasota, Florida, has approved a preliminary version of Sarasota 2050, a comprehensive plan that encourages and provides incentives for compact, mixed-use development in the county’s unincorporated areas (see...
The Smart Growth Network has published “Getting to Smart Growth: 100 Policies for Implementation,” a guide for states and local communities. The publication is available free of charge at www.smartgrowth.org or by calling Juanita Smith at (202) 260...
As American-style sprawl begins to take root, two German academics argue that the New Urbanism is the missing link in the strategies to preserve and renew cities. In Berlin, an infill project showcases the principles in action. The German...
A growing number of governors and state legislatures introduce bills to update planning statutes and promote smart growth principles. By sheer volume alone, the state-level activity on planning reform is impressive. Between 1999 and 2001, lawmakers...
International Making Cities Livable is hosting its annual conference in Alpbach & Salzburg, Austria, on September 15-19. Conference topics include: New Urban Neighborhoods, Community Participation in Planning & Design, and more. To submit...
The City of Toronto has hired Robert Freedman as its new Director of Urban Design. Prior to his appointment, Freedman was a project manager at Urban Design Associates in Pittsburgh.
Homebuilders in Palm Beach County, Florida, are not thrilled at the prospect of proposed zoning calling for traditional neighborhood design. The Florida county won an award from the American Planning Association in 2001 for its Managed Growth Tier...