• Chattanooga is chugging along

    Four decades of public-nonprofit-private partnership in New Urbanism has produced a city in balance, moving forward.
    I was recently in Chattanooga, one of the first cities in America to be transformed by New Urbanism. An industrial city and railroad hub (celebrated by Glenn Miller’s “Chattanooga Choo-Choo”), the City was in economic and demographic free-fall by the latter part of the 20 th Century. But...Read more

  • The world after campus

    I refuse to accept my best days of walkability were in college.
    Having just graduated from college this past week, one thing has struck me again and again in conversations with my graduating peers. When they talk about what they’ll miss about college after graduating, they reveal that they will miss the way of life on-campus – how there’s always something to do...Read more

  • In the Ozarks, a greenway inspires change

    The Razorback Greenway and a Design Excellence Program are transforming the small cities of Northwest Arkansas.
    Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a unique metropolitan region—without one dominant city. Instead, the rapidly growing Ozark Mountain area is centered on four small cities stacked south to north—Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville. The valley is linked by Interstate 49, which provides good...Read more

  • You can’t make a great city, without a great public realm

    A focus on the public realm is really what distinguishes new urban design from conventional suburban planning. A good definition and full understanding are important.
    New urbanists often speak of the public realm—but what is it? The public realm consists of streets, parks, and other public spaces where you can wander freely, ideally on foot. Think of the city as a series of connected outdoor rooms, large and small, bounded by buildings: That’s the public realm...Read more