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.
The Revitalization Corp., chartered by the District of Columbia, has unveiled plans for a redevelopment of the southwest Potomac River waterfront into a mixed-use, pedestrian friendly neighborhood center. Plans call for apartments, shops and cafes,...
In San Diego, Mayor Dick Murphy’s City of Villages strategy is moving closer to becoming the framework for future growth in the city. The strategy’s goal is to channel growth into compact, walkable town centers and neighborhoods, and the mayor is...
The Project for Public Spaces has reprinted the classic 1980 study of New York City’s plazas, “The Social Life of Small Urban Places” by William H. Whyte. The book and companion video are available for $35 and $25 respectively. Contact: (212) 620-...
It’s rare and perhaps significant that an architecture critic reviews something as utilitarian as a new supermarket, as Blair Kamin did recently in the Chicago Tribune. The reason: in place of another conventional big box, the new two-story Jewel-...
The City of Pittsburgh has unveiled a smaller plan to revitalize the downtown shopping district, known as Fifth and Forbes. The current $363 million plan includes a hotel, offices, retail stores, and 580 apartments. The plan maintains an urban...
A master plan for the Ocean View section of Norfolk, Virginia, was unveiled by architect Ray Gindroz of Urban Design Associates (UDA). The plan recommends the creation of a “village center” adjacent to the site of a new urban neighborhood soon to be...
Programs focusing on smart growth and the New Urbanism were launched at four universities in the past year. Most have stressed education; research and hands-on design are also on the agendas.
In Miami, a group of professionals from different...
The Baldwin Park project is the largest new urban infill development in Florida.
Since the Pentagon designated the Naval Training Center for closure in 1993, this 1,100-acre site has been the subject of one the nation’s most extensive public...
Bill Lennertz and Steve Coyle, of Lennertz Coyle & Associates in Portland, Oregon, founded the nonprofit NCI to research “the art and science” of design charrettes and educate professionals on the subject. Board members are Elizabeth Plater-...
Whitman’s speech caps a well-attended event in San Diego.
Speaking to a sold-out crowd at the New Partners for Smart Growth conference in San Diego, California, in late January, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Christine...
The Greater Minnesota Housing Fund has published “Building Better Neighborhoods,” a 92-page book which describes and illustrates urban design principles for towns and cities. Contact: (615) 221-1997.
The Envision Utah Partnership is the winner of the American Planning Association’s Daniel Burnham Award for 2002. The jury cited the partnership’s “masterful job of bringing public and private interests together.”