• CNU takes code reform to New Hampshire

    Following a recent code reform partnership with the State of Vermont culminating in a report and legislative initiatives , CNU has embarked on a similar project in New Hampshire, working with the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority. The first stakeholder meeting took place in early August. New...Read more

  • State moves forward with zoning reform

    A bill moving through Vermont legislature adopts key zoning reform measures for walkable communities, even as the state recently completed a report with CNU on incremental changes to land use laws.
    Like many states, Vermont has many communities with outdated zoning that worsen housing affordability problems. The median price of a house in Vermont has risen rapidly since 2016 and now is $261,000, according to Zillow. The state recently worked with CNU on a how-to guide on zoning reform ...Read more

  • New guide offers communities a path to zoning reform

    CNU teams with the State of Vermont to promote incremental steps to housing access and affordability in communities of all sizes.
    The Congress of the New Urbanism (CNU) worked with the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to complete Enabling Better Places: A Zoning Guide for Vermont Neighborhoods . This how-to manual, part of CNU’s Project for Code Reform , promotes practical, small steps for...Read more

  • State-of-the-art code for a walkable city

    In its new form-based code, Somerville ditches a Model T zoning engine and adopts 21st Century green design. The code won a 2020 CNU Charter Award in the Metropolis, City, and Town category for the City of Somerville.
    Somerville, Massachusetts, recently adopted a state-of-the-art form-based code that brings together much of the wisdom that urbanists have acquired over the last 30 years. Remarkably, the code was largely written by in-house city planners, who include skilled urbanists with many years of experience...Read more