• New beach town is a model for regional growth

    Seabrook, Washington, has created a model for Transect-based town design in an economically challenged region. Seabrook Land Company and Qamar & Associates won the 2026 Charter Award Grand Prize in the Neighborhood, District, and Corridor category.
    Seabrook, Washington, a much-admired new beach town with a traffic-calmed coastal road running through it, has now received the highest prize for a New Urbanist project. The 588-acre town perches on three promontories overlooking the Pacific Ocean, safe from tsunamis or the potential impacts of...Read more

  • Meet the 2026 Charter Awards winners

    15 winning projects embody and advance the principles of the Charter of the New Urbanism for the 26th year.
    Each year since 2001, the CNU Charter Awards have celebrated the best current work in New Urbanism from around the world. Winning projects highlight exemplary efforts put forth by local governments, developers, lenders, architects, urban designers, community activists, and others engaged in...Read more

  • A new model for walkable community colleges

    An innovative plan in Northwest Arkansas would convert a commuter campus to a 24-hour college community.
    Enrollment is declining at higher education institutions nationwide—community colleges, which grew by 4 percent in 2025, are an exception. Many students are turning to community colleges to avoid high student debt and get training in in-demand fields. Community colleges also tend to be the most...Read more

  • Mixed-use village planned at rural crossroads

    The first CNU 2026 Legacy Project creates a plan for a mixed-use village in growing Northwest Arkansas.
    A plan was created for a 61-acre walkable, mixed-use village in Elm Springs, Arkansas, during a charrette this week. Located just west of the City of Springdale in the growing Northwest Arkansas metro area, Elm Springs downtown currently consists of commercial and industrial buildings at the...Read more