Tenth Congress to celebrate accomplishments, take on challenges

As our tenth annual gathering of proponents of the New Urbanism approaches, the time is right to look back at the movement’s accomplishments. At the same time, big new challenges lie ahead —most notably that of helping existing suburbs become walkable towns. On June 13, participants at CNU’s tenth Congress will have reason to cel- ebrate. Since 1993, new urbanists have gathered every year to discuss the cutting-edge issues in design and development. From the start, the goal has been to transform development practice in America and beyond. While the movement has made its mark, it still has a long way to go. The first Congress, in Alexandria, Virginia in 1993, was an invitation-only affair for about 100 participants. Nevertheless, it generated excitement in the architecture and planning worlds. The next year, CNU members met in Los Angeles, this time to discuss buildings, blocks, and streets. Though still an intimate event, it jumped to 200 participants. CNU III in San Francisco was bigger still and notable for its discussions of the regional aspects of New Urbanism. That event reached out to organizations and disciplines beyond architecture and planning to create a coalition of interests addressing urbanism. At the same time, a cover story in Newsweek magazine cast New Urbanism as a national savior. Over the next year, CNU leaders compiled the discussions from the Congresses into a Charter of the New Urbanism. When it was released at CNU IV, in Charleston, the 350 attendees — including then Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros — rose spontaneously to sign on to the document. The release of the Charter in 1996 spurred massive media attention. The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and many smaller publications wrote glowing editorials. CNU membership began its remarkable rise, growing to over 1000 in 1999 and over 2000 in 2001. CNU V in Toronto took advantage of its location outside of the United States to look at urbanism around the world, drawing attendees from 18 countries. CNU VI in Denver focused on environmental issues, and also began to examine infill opportunities more carefully. Task forces During that period, CNU’s member task forces produced some of CNU’s most popular research reports. The task forces were formed at CNU III to address specific areas of concern for CNU members. They helped inform the Charter and then began publishing their research. The Transportation Tech Sheets produced by the Transportation Task Force and the initial research on financing New Urbanism by the Developers Task Force became instrumental to showing the world how to develop new urban communities. CNU VII in Milwaukee and CNU VIII in Portland each focused on older cities, examining social justice issues, development opportunities, and ways to tie in with the growing Smart Growth movement. CNU IX, in New York City last summer, took advantage of the location to examine the possible extent and variety of urbanism. The historic urbanism of the Northeast and Eastern Seaboard was highlighted, as participants enjoyed the transit-friendliness of the site. In addition, we introduced New Urbanism 101, an all-day introduction to the principles of the charter. These last two Congresses have ballooned into larger affairs than ever before. The Portland event, which doubled up with a conference of Livable Oregon, attracted 1,400 attendees, and the New York event had 1,100. Meanwhile, CNU membership has grown to almost 2,500. Ultimately, CNU is more about practice than talk, so CNU X will remember the on-the-ground accomplishments that members have made in the past nine years.