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The Thirty Years' War rages on
In architecture, the constant search for the new no longer represents freedom. Urbanism and sustainability are nobler and more practical imperatives.Why has New Urbanism turned out for the design community to be the equivalent of the Syrian War, or perhaps the whole of the Middle East conflict? Quite simply, as Dan Solomon and others have noted , there are seemingly irreconcilable differences the Academy, and little willingness to negotiate or...Read more -
Time is urbanism
Authentic urbanism, unlike large-scale architecture, is built out over time. Architectural critics make the mistake of assessing an urban project in its early years.Editor's note: This piece responds to Daniel Solomon’s essay , The Thirty Years’ War: New Urbanism and the Academy , published September 27, which critiques the concept of fabric and monument buildings that helps to organize the design of new urban neighborhoods like Seaside, Florida. The essay is...Read more -
The death of New Urbanism is greatly exaggerated
Restoring the human-scale to the modern built environment is a long-term task, key to human health and welfare, that has barely begun.A recent Governing Magazine piece was provocatively titled, "The 'New Urbanism' Movement Might be Dead." Taking that clickbait leads to a piece by respected urban planning essayist William Fulton that is mostly about the success of the New Urbanism. Thirty years ago, the idea of a return to city...Read more -
The Thirty Years’ War: New Urbanism and the Academy
What if the Academic criticisms of New Urbanism are right? What if the idea of fabric and monument buildings is inadequate to build a city?To most American architects and to almost all schools of architecture, New Urbanism is a bizarre, little known, sub-culture that they look upon with attitudes that range from indifference, to dismissiveness, to active hostility. Many in CNU happily return the favor and see the digital razzle dazzle...Read more