In the News

With its editorials and ongoing coverage, the Sun Herald of South Mississippi proves again and again that the Pulitzer committee made a wise decision in awarding the paper the top prize in journalism. With a compelling and carefully detailed December column, Sun Herald publisher Ricky Mathews astute... read more »

Steven Pearlstein from the Washington Post lauds Tysons Corner for its suburb grit in his article "Suburban Soul: Reston Is Hot Property, but Tysons Hums With 'Messy Vitality.'" While I would tend to agree that the best places evolve over time, creating that "messy vitality," I think Pearlstein is ... read more »

Mark Givens interviews the always provocative Jim Kunstler in the latest issue of MungBeing, an online magazine, about not only "The Long Emergency" and New Urbanism, but also his paintings, music, and novels. ... read more »

Green building standards are getting greener. Charles Shaw hunts down cutting-edge environmental advocates such as green architect Doug Farr, one of the leaders of the anticipated new green rating system called LEED-Neighborhood Design (LEED-ND). The LEED-ND Core Committee hopes to launch this imp... read more »

John Norquist and Scott Bernstein shed light on Seattle’s latest Alaskan Viaduct considerations. After reviewing WSDOT’s analysis of the “no-replacement” option, Norquist and Bernstein find exaggerated assumptions and inadequate considerations as to how traffic in downtown Seattle can be ab... read more »

One year after Katrina, New Orleans is still behind the eight ball when it comes to rebuilding. However, with the help of a Rockefeller grant, the Great New Orleans Foundation is heading a neighborhood-scale rebuilding effort that employs several new urbanist architects. In the recent posting in S... read more »

According to Coleman Warner of the Times-Picayune, there seems to be a lot of planning and discussing on how to rebuild New Orleans but public uncertainty still looms as to what and when plans get implemented. Many residents feel that too much money is being spent on planning and consulting as hous... read more »

USA Today’s Larry Copeland tells us that many coastal Mississippi towns are rebuilding their communities with new urbanist principles in mind. But not all towns are jumping on the bandwagon. Towns like Biloxi seem weary of recent efforts to create walkable communities with widespread access to s... read more »

In a USA Today cover story today, Larry Copeland gave John Norquist a chance to react to the not-so-good news found in the latest "Commuting in America" report. John used the opportunity to say how growing developer interest in mixed-use urbanism is poised to affect the so-far declining numbers for ... read more »

USA Today’s Haya El Nasser investigates Wal-mart’s big new move in coastal Mississippi—going urban. After Hurricane Katrina ravaged south Mississippi, there is opportunity to consider alternative measures in urban design. But can a marriage between Wal-Mart and historical downtowns be succes... read more »