• Improving urban design in a post-pandemic world

    CNU staff, new Executive Director Rick Cole, meet in person for the first time to find new ways to support complete, sustainable neighborhoods through the architecture of community.
    On June 1, 2021, we welcomed new Executive Director Rick Cole to the CNU family. He brought with him an impressive career, a trove of insights, and a passion for New Urbanism that was clear from day one. The only thing? As a remote organization, staff never met Rick in person and even between staff...Read more

  • Rick Cole’s new role: Updating urbanism for the 21st Century

    Note: This interview was recently published in The Planning Report : Insider’s Guide to Planning and Infrastructure. Questions posed by TPR are in bold. After more than three decades of leadership in government and public policy in Southern California, you’re stepping into a national role heading...Read more

  • CNU 29 review: How can we design for change?

    This past week I had the pleasure to attend CNU 29.Design for Change , CNU’s annual Congress. In an oversaturated time period of virtual conferences, CNU 29 was different. It was engaging, enlightening, and entertaining. Organized as a 3-day virtual conference, from May 19-21, the Congress explored...Read more

  • The Charter, exactly 25 years later

    A quarter century ago, the Charter of the New Urbanism laid out timeless principles that are the bedrock of an influential movement.
    Tuesday, May 4, unremarked by anyone in any media as far as I know, a significant anniversary for urbanism passed. Exactly 25 years before, on a sunny, warm, spring day in 1996 in Charleston, South Carolina, the Charter of the New Urbanism was signed. I was in the hall when participants of CNU IV...Read more