• 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

  • Old versus New Urbanism, and what it means

    The Florida Gulf Coast offers a chance to compare the meanings of Old and New Urbanism, examine why the two are not as distinct, and how urbanism is evolving.
    A professor of real estate visited the Florida Panhandle and compared the New Urbanism on Route 30A (Seaside, Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach) to the “old urbanism” of Panama City, about 30 miles to the east. J. David Chapman, chair of finance and professor of real estate at The University of Central...Read more

  • Plan to revitalize Gary with small interventions

    Notre Dame School of Architecture teamed with nationally known planners and the Indiana city to build on Gary’s good bones.
    Gary, Indiana Gary, Indiana Not Louisiana, Paris, France, New York or Rome But Gary, Indiana Gary, Indiana Gary, Indiana My home sweet home Is there a happier song about a city? “Gary, Indiana,” a 1958 song from The Music Man, harkens back to the early 20th Century when the musical was set. The...Read more

  • Civic space designed to reveal a dark history

    The Shockoe Project tells an important story about slavery while providing public space that links downtown to an adjacent neighborhood. Baskervill won a Merit Award in the Block, Street, and Building category of the 2025 CNU Charter Awards.
    The Shockoe Project is transforming a historically important but underutilized 10-acre site in Richmond, Virginia, into a nationally significant remembrance of the suffering and struggles of enslaved Americans. The project is planned for the Shockoe Valley, just east of downtown, on a site with a...Read more