• Turning a dead mall into a thriving urban center

    MidCity District in Huntsville, Alabama, is an exemplary model for suburban retrofit. Urban Design Associates won a Merit Award in the Neighborhood, District, and Corridor category of the 2026 CNU Charter Awards.
    The MidCity District replaces a 140-acre failing mall site with a block-and-street network that offers tremendous opportunities to develop valuable real estate supporting a high-quality public realm. The Huntsville, Alabama, project was designed in 2015 and adapted to changes wrought by the...Read more

  • A town extension for the ages

    New mixed-use development at Nansledan, Newquay in Cornwall UK is socially conscious and environmentally sustainable. ADAM Architecture won a Merit Award in the Neighborhood, District, and Corridor category of the 2026 CNU Charter Awards.
    Nansledan is an extension of the town of Newquay in Cornwall, UK, restoring a sustainable, efficient pattern of growth, in keeping with the original settlement. Newquay refers to a “new quay” that was built on the north Cornwall coast in 1439—so the town of 24,000 people has sustained itself for...Read more

  • Downtown transformed by new streetscape and park

    Basalt Downtown Streetscape & River Park has renewed a struggling historic Colorado mining town. Connect One Design won a Merit Award in the Block, Street, and Building category of the 2026 CNU Charter Awards.
    A streetscape and park project revitalized the economically struggling downtown of a historic Colorado mining community while engaging the town’s history and culture. The Basalt Downtown Streetscape & River Park overcame controversy and a mid-project special referendum to create accessible...Read more

  • New housing slows or lowers rents

    A Pew report came out last year on housing construction and rents that is worth commenting on, because it addresses the most common complaint about new housing: That it drives up living costs. People see new, expensive housing that is unaffordable, they see housing prices going up, and they put two...Read more