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 administration of Republican Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder launched a program in April that ties placemaking to economic development and has the potential for far-reaching impact. The MIplace Initiative uses the mixed-use neighborhood as a...
The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences recently published Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention, a major study. The recommendations are wide ranging, but the first one focuses on the built environment. “Communities,...
In Britain, architecture and design criticism is passionate. After seeing London's hulking Tower Thistle Hotel beside the beautiful Tower Bridge during the Queen's diamond jubilee, Broadcaster Matthew Parris said that architects and planners...
In a New York Times blog, Allison Arieff describes sprawl as a vicious cycle that generates homes ever further away from jobs, creating more traffic, and demanding more highways, which leads to more sprawl. "Everything in our culture today...
After several changes of ownership and bankruptcy of one of the owners, plans are finally moving forward for the development of an urban town center for Columbia, Maryland, a well-known 1960s suburban "new town." The initial $100 million project...
This 1,876-space garage at Amway Center, home of the Orlando Magic, is a "stunning example of form and function," according to the International Parking Institute, which gave it the top award for architectural achievement. The perforated aluminum...
Harvard's annual The State of the Nation's Housing says more sprawl is inevitable, but it doesn't say when. Since most undeveloped land is outside of cities, it says “there is every reason to believe that the exurbs will once again capture a...
Capital Bikeshare (CiBi) members save an average of $891 per year and collectively reduce their driving miles by 5 million per year, according to the DC Department of Transportation. Highlights of the survey, which received 5,000 responses: 83...
The winners, announced at CNU 20, are Eliza Harris, John Massengale, and Mathew McElroy.
CNU’s initiatives advance bipartisan reforms that deliver market-based improvements to the economy, the environment and public health.
Vision: We envision the restoration of existing urban centers and towns within coherent metropolitan regions ...
Ample opportunity exists to relive the CNU 20 experience — or live it for the first time if you were unable to attend.