• Form-based code with step-backs

    Architect Laurence Qamar recently created a series of step-back proposals for the Woodstock Corridor In Portland, Oregon, illustrated above. "Instead of the boxy, ungainly 'space invaders' that have bedeviled other parts of the city, Qamar’s step-back code would assure that buildings step down to...Read more

  • The wheel of community—broken and repaired

    This series of drawings was inspired by the idea that physical communities have enabled nearly every human advancement since the dawn of history. Communities are hubs where people protect themselves, trade, specialize, and share collective memory that allows culture and technology to grow. Human...Read more

  • Built-to-last versus throwaway development

    See how pre-Revolutionary War structures compare to Walmart.
    Big box stores tend to be used up and abandoned fairly quickly. Sometimes they are repurposed, but often demolished, within a generation. Why do some other properties last and last, maintained by generation after generation, contributing to tax rolls and community wealth? Joe Minicozzi of Urban3,...Read more
  • Power Strip, Dhiru Thadani

    The Power Grid

    “We know what the appliance is…. now we need to find plugs to connect it to the existing power grids.” Christopher Alexander Since its inception, the Congress for the New Urbanism and its members have in fact been making the plugs to connect to the existing power grids. It started with placemaking...Read more