• Sense of place is real

    “Sense of place” is not some nebulous, mystical idea. Sense of place is the emotional or psychological reaction to "place," as shown in the graphic above, created by Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA). Communities and neighborhoods with good physical form evoke that psychological...Read more

  • Jane Jacobs was right

    Older and smaller buildings and a wide range in building age offer real economic and social benefits for neighborhoods and urban centers.
    This year is the centenary of Jane Jacobs's birth. Two years ago, the National Trust for Historic Preservation tested her theories on old buildings and walkable places, releasing a report called Older, Smaller, Better that strongly supports many of her observations on cities. This month, a follow-...Read more

  • Introducing CNU 25.Seattle

    Here's a preview of what you will see and do in Seattle at the 25th annual Congress for the New Urbanism this May.
    It’s been over four months since CNU 24.Detroit, and the buzz still hasn’t worn off. Our 2016 Congress drew 1483 attendees from 43 states and 28 countries. Nine out of ten of you called it one of the best Congresses ever. That’s big. Thanks to the support of all our partners, CNU 24.Detroit was a...Read more

  • 'Good bones' are a key to strong communities

    Grids are easy and inexpensive—they are a natural way to design streets. But the convention for much of the last century is to model streets on sewer systems.
    A body without good bones will fall apart. And as many of us have come to realize, streets are the bones of communities. A community that lacks good streets will suffer—in its economy, its social well-being, and its health. When people who study cities and towns say that a place “has good bones,”...Read more