• Learning from others: The NTBA Roundtable

    Green urbanism, successional development, and the creation of unique, walkable places are among the National Town Builders Association topics.
    One of the critical elements of success for developers is to learn from the successes and failures of others— as opposed to having to learn from your own mistakes on your own dime. Today there are more opportunities to learn from others than at any other time in the past due to the multitude of...Read more

  • Comeback planned for commercial corridor

    CNU partnered with a small city and citizens to create a toolbox with immediate practical usefulness for a segment of the old Dixie Highway in Georgia.
    New urbanists explored the revitalization of a languishing 21-block, 2-plus-mile-long commercial thoroughfare in Brunswick, Georgia, in early March. Norwich Street, with high vacancy rates but good urban “bones,” has strong redevelopment potential for the coastal city of 16,000 people. In a joint...Read more

  • A towering proposal for Portland’s Pearl

    I don't often write about skyscrapers, but this proposal includes smart urban design moves.
    Portland’s Pearl District may get five million new square feet of development, including two towers—one 970 feet tall—in what is called the Broadway Corridor Plan. This project is interesting because it would extend the Portland tiny block pattern and the city's iconic “park blocks.” It also would...Read more

  • A suburban town revitalizes incrementally

    Parsons Alley activates abandoned properties, creates a popular and lively new public place, and attracts businesses that appeal to young professionals.
    As downtowns and urban neighborhoods thrive across America, leaders and citizens outside city centers have begun to ask, “How do we reinvent the suburbs?” Moreover, how can this be done in an incremental way that doesn’t require a large transformative project? Major projects are hard to come by and...Read more