• From car-oriented thoroughfare to community center

    Lancaster, California, has lit the local economy and secured a social heart with one transformative street project.
    Note: This case study was written for the Institute for Transportation Engineers new book Implementing Context Sensitive Design on Multimodal Corridors , funded by the Federal Highway Administration. The nine-block makeover of Lancaster Boulevard, the city’s historic main street, has become a...Read more

  • Seven case studies for complete streets

    Here are streets that are more than just conduits for cars—they are places that support social and economic life, walking, bicycling, and transit.
    The following video covers examples from around the US of busy, automobile-oriented thoroughfares that were transformed into complete streets using design that responds to urban context. CNU wrote the case studies for a new book by the Institute for Transportation Engineers called Implementing...Read more
  • Hamburg New York

    Great Idea: Context-based street design

    Building thoroughfares as places of beauty and social interaction requires a context-based approach to design.
    In celebration of the 25th Congress for the New Urbanism , Public Square is running the series 25 Great Ideas of the New Urbanism. These ideas have been shaped by new urbanists and continue to influence cities, towns, and suburbs. The series is meant to inspire and challenge those working toward...Read more

  • Rethinking the future of state DOTs

    Here's six ways to transform communities and revitalize our economy by repurposing state departments of transportation, which are currently organized based on an outdated 1950s model.
    The modern state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) were created, by and large, in order to build the Interstate System and associated freeways . Most American roads were dirt until several decades into the 20th Century, and the idea that we needed specialized agencies created specifically to...Read more