• Great Idea: Building better suburbs through retrofit

    Suburbs are becoming more diverse and connected to meet the needs of Americans of all ages in the 21st Century.
    In celebration of the upcoming CNU 25.Seattle , Public Square is running the series 25 Great Ideas of the New Urbanism. These ideas have been shaped by new urbanists and continue to influence cities, towns, and suburbs. The series is meant to inspire and challenge those working toward complete...Read more

  • Where to begin? Target a place

    Many suburbs would like to revitalize infrastructure and assets, but they don’t know what problems to tackle first. Not knowing can lead to paralysis.
    Note: This document is one of a series of tools created for Build a Better Burb, the Hub for Great Suburban Design. The series emerged from the Build a Better Burb Sprawl Retrofit Council in Miami, Florida, in March, 2016—an event aimed at expanding transportation choice, sense of place, and...Read more

  • CNU relaunches Build a Better Burb

    After a year of work, the Build a Better Burb website has been upgraded, offering an improved platform for suburbs that are rethinking their planning and development.
    The suburbs are a big part of the movement to create human-scale, walkable places. Land outside of principle cities, the area often equated with suburbs, comprises more than 95 percent of metropolitan areas. Yet the suburbs are often left out of the discussion of people moving into urban places...Read more

  • A code transforms a commercial strip corridor

    “Thanks to skilled designers, a clear, implementable code, and a truly capable client, this plan is getting built, and well.”
    First built over 200 years ago as a toll road connecting Washington DC to greater Virginia, Columbia Pike now serves as a direct route to the Pentagon and other capital landmarks. Until recently, this Arlington, Virginia, thoroughfare was an aging commercial strip stifled by outdated zoning...Read more