Background

For years, CNU's Transportation Task Force members have been trying to launch a project that would lead to the adoption of new urbanist network and street design guidance into the standards of the major engineering organizations. The Task Force and CNU’s Board of Directors wanted to work jointly with a national organization that publishes standards, such as the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), or the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). After much preliminary effort, in spring, 2002, we initiated a joint project with ITE, with help from smart growth staff at the US Environmental Protection Agency.

During the time it has taken to get the Task Force effort moving, members have been working on and debating the topics that we will be taking up at the summit meeting. Some new urbanist practitioners’ work focuses on TND design, others work more at the network level, in both greenfields and in established built-up areas. This work has stimulated a good deal of debate, especially since the CNU X in Miami.

It is clearly time for new urbanists to get together to discuss transportation. At the end of this summit, we hope to have agreement or informed disagreement, that will advance the state of new urbanist practice. These informed positions will help us participate effectively in our partnership with the ITE.

Summit planning committee

Fred Dock, Jacky Grimshaw, Peter Swift

CNU thanks the US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Council for their support of the Summit meeting and related activities.

Required Reading

• The Urban Network: A New Framework for Growth by Peter Calthorpe
• Urban Arterials and Regional Structure, an email exchange between Andres Duany and Peter Calthorpe
• Critics Collide over 'urban network' proposal, article by Phillip Langdon published in New Urban News, Ocober/November 2002 issue
• 'Liveable Neighborhoods': Urban Structuring: Some Observations and Indicative Design Alternatives for the CNU Summit (Part One) by Chip Kaufman and Wendy Morris
• 'Liveable Neighborhoods': Urban Structuring: Some Observations and Indicative Design Alternatives for the CNU Summit (Part Two) by Chip Kaufman and Wendy Morris

Background Reading - Recommended

• Index 4D Method: A Quick Response Method of Estimating Travel Impacts from Land-Use Changes, a technical memorandum prepared for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by Criterion Planners/Engineers and Fehr & Peers Associates
• Introduction to the special issue of The Journal of Urban Design dedicated to the transect by Andres Duany
• Design/Development Principles for Livable Suburban Arterial Roadways by Fred Dock, William Morrish, and Carol Swenson
• Livable Neighborhoods: Street Layout, Design and Traffic Management Guideline by the Western Australia Planning Commission, June 2000

Summary

The summit is a two-day working session. Day One will focus on network, subregional structure and functional classification from the standpoint of establishing a framework for integrating street design with urban design and land use context. Day Two will address the design parameters and the elements of the cross section for a new street design manual. A wrap-up session at the end of Day Two will provide time to decide on a work plan for completion of the tasks begun at the summit. A detailed agenda will be distributed in advance of the meeting.

Scope

For both newly developing and established urbanized areas, we will address:

• Regional street network
• Functional classification of streets
• Integrating streets with urban design and land use context
• Design of cross-sections
• In all cases we will be taking a multimodal approach

Format

Both days will be structured with a limited number of formal presentations followed by facilitated discussions. The sessions will be videotaped and documented in a Summit Report.