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.
Shared-space is the idea of letting cars, pedestrians, and bicyclists mix on a thoroughfare with little regulation of movement. This idea has mostly been applied to low-volume streets, but a shared-space intersection with 26,000 vehicles per day has...
With its emphasis on the quality of design throughout its products and stores, Target is an ideal partner for CNU in administering its annual awards program.
Transportation Alternatives, a nonprofit based in New York City, is declaring 2013 the "year of the complete street." The group identifies four "critical elements" in the campaign for complete streets in New York City. 1) Bicycle lanes protected by...
Made for Walking: Density and Neighborhood Form captures the aspirations of urbanism today.
A walking audit engages the mind, encourages collaboration and enables people to come up with practical solutions that are easy to implement on the ground.
Well-designed streets are the lifeblood of cities and towns, and they are the foundation of walkable, appealing communities.
The new urban Arverne-by-the-Sea, one of the largest current residential developments in New York City, surprised many residents by its resilience to Hurricane Sandy.
A $6.4 million project in Poynton Town Centre, in Cheshire, UK, is pushing the limits of removing traffic controls — and the result has been good for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
The City of Lancaster, California, converted a drab, automobile-oriented arterial at the heart of downtown into a lively, pedestrian-friendly place.
The state Greenbook gives official guidance and seal of approval to the creation of narrow, interconnnected, walkable streets.
Rethinking A Lot: The Design and Culture of Parking, by Eran Ben-Joseph, MIT Press, 2012, 157 pages, $24.95
Cities are growing faster than their suburbs for the first time in recent history, and this trend applies to the country’s biggest as well as some of its smallest cities