CNU 18: A Quick Guide

The annual Congress always assembles big thinkers on big subjects. It always provides a made-to-order environment for networking and information sharing. And it’s always a kind of laboratory drawing on examples of urbanism from the neighborhoods and thoroughfares of the host city and region. For the 18th CNU gathering in Atlanta, CNU staff and the host committee are ramping up all those opportunities with a program designed to attract new partners from beyond the fields of architecture and urban planning and to put the emphasis on participation.

The program’s scope is broader than ever. Since this Congress is organized with the assistance of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we’ll incorporate the latest research and experiences of public health specialists in discussions about good urbanism’s contributions to healthy, connected communities. Speakers will explain and critique the Obama Administration’s historic effort to combine federal resources and focus environmental, transportation, and housing strategies in ways that support New Urbanist principles. New voices, including that of eclectic rocker and bicycle enthusiast David Byrne and other first-time presenters, will be added to those of New Urbanism’s most experienced practitioners. And because of Atlanta’s unique role as the principal metropolitan force in the Southeast, there will be opportunities to evaluate a range of urban and regional initiatives with many of the men and women who led them.

This year, the Congress’ sessions are designed to move rapidly through presentations and get quickly to audience engagement. In plenaries, panels and workshops, in the hands-on urban lab explorations, and in the increased opportunities for informal discussions and networking, CNU18 opens the doors wider and invites deeper conversation on themes that will define the new era.

For a look at the events and day-by-day program for CNU18, go here.