• Playing field tilted against cities

    "The public policy environment in Pennsylvania, and in most places in the United States, is absolutely, positively hostile to cities," said Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf. Wolf said, for example, that the costs of water, sewer, and electric networks tend to be lower in densely populated areas, but that...Read more

  • Poverty is a bigger problem than gentrification

    An infographic from City Observatory makes the case for why concentrated poverty impacts more people in US cities.
    Poverty displaces more people than gentrification and is a bigger, more intractable problem, according to research by City Observatory . The two images above are part of an infographic (click here to see it in full) derived from US city data from 1970 to 2010. Gentrification creates real problems,...Read more

  • Comeback city: CNU in Detroit

    The Transforming City is the theme of this year’s Congress—and it’s the most inspiring CNU storyline that I can remember.
    Everything bad that has happened to US cities since 1950 is compounded in the Motor City. Detroit has lost more than 60 percent of its population. Its industrial economy is decimated. Houses have burned down almost nightly for years. Crime, poor schools, bankruptcy—you name it—Detroit has suffered...Read more

  • Lean codes for low barriers to entry

    We believe form-based codes are the most efficient, predictable, and elegant way to assure high levels of walkability and urbanism – even in more rural environments. However, the political and staff capacity of many local governments is not prepared for a full zoning reform effort. CNU is...Read more