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.
There is still time to submit case studies on the crime prevention and public safety benefits of the New Urbanism to Al Zelinka and Dean Brennan, who are working on a book for the American Planning Association’s Planners Press. The final deadline...
A 37,000 square foot grocery store is expected to open its doors in McKenzie Towne in Calgary, Alberta, before the end of the year. This may be the first sizable supermarket to open in a pedestrian-oriented town center of a traditional neighborhood...
CNU membership is continuing to grow and diversify. We are now about 1,100 strong. Participation by developers, citizen activists, transportation advocates, environmentalists, and elected officials is on the rise. If you are a member and receive a...
As Mayor Norquist said so eloquently at our recent Board meeting, “New Urbanism ought to be orthodoxy in five years.” While that may be an ambitious goal, I believe that we do have a responsibility, as a movement, to be more than just a fad — that’s...
The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) in Atlantic City, New Jersey, is scheduled to break ground by the end of 1998 on a 150-home redevelopment on three and a half city blocks. The homes, inspired by vernacular architecture, include...
Vince Graham has firsthand knowledge of the negative consequences of attempting a new urbanist development in a town without an ordinance specifically allowing such projects. When proposing I’On, a 243-acre traditional neighborhood development (TND...
While the New Urbanism is still strongly discouraged by most subdivision and zoning ordinances, an increasing number of local jurisdictions are approving laws that allow mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented developments.
New Urban News and the Congress...
CNU is currently issuing a Call for Presentations at CNU VII. Submittals are due in the CNU office
by November 2, 1998. Look at
our web site for more information: www.cnu.org.
This Congress for the New Urbanism and the movement in general have been getting a lot of media attention, both positive and negative. The good
news is that CNU issues — building real neighborhoods and livable streets, promoting compact regional...
The Seaside Neighborhood School opened in 1997. In terms of public schools, nothing like it has been built in decades. The building resembles a 100-year-old New England meeting house, albeit one equipped with modern, handicapped accessible...
As defined by New Urban News, TNDs generally include an interconnected networks of streets and blocks, a clear neighborhood center (or centers, in the case of large projects), a mix of uses and housing types, a compact form, and pedestrian-oriented...
Transit lines are planned for two large traditional neighborhood developments (TNDs): Addison Circle (Addison, Texas) and King Farm (Rockville, Maryland). Both of these TNDs feature high residential density, plus significant retail and office space...