• Pontiac loop highlights a national infrastructure need

    Streets support commerce, social interaction, physical activity, recreation, and multimodal transportation—yet DOT funding criteria are stuck in the past.
    Pontiac, Michigan, is moving forward with plans to revert a 2.5-mile one-way loop to two-way traffic—a change that is projected to bring 200,000 square feet of retail and $55 million in annual sales to the City's distressed downtown. The plan, in the works for 15 years, was given a boost by a CNU...Read more

  • We need infrastructure that serves multiple purposes

    For National Infrastructure Week, here are priorities that meet transportation, economic, and livability needs.
    In recognition of National Infrastructure Week , we highlight some of our own and others’ work to identify priorities for national infrastructure spending. In some cases it really is high #TimetoBuild —in others, time to unbuild. Recently, CNU President and CEO Lynn Richards spoke with Grist...Read more

  • How fire chiefs and traffic engineers make places less safe

    Normal, walkable streets are under attack in Celebration, Florida. The battle threatens your neighborhood, wherever you live.
    Of all the urbanism specialists with tunnel vision, fire chiefs, fire marshals, and traffic engineers are probably the most dangerous. And by “dangerous,” I don’t just mean that they’re a threat to good urbanism; they also get people killed, which is exactly the opposite of what they are...Read more

  • Great idea: Interconnected street networks

    In order to get good streets, you have to think beyond any single street—an idea that is at the core of New Urbanism. Dendritic networks lead to fragmented and dispersed land uses.
    In celebration of the upcoming CNU 25.Seattle , 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 complete...Read more