• From the wreckage, hope and opportunity

    Citizens have a chance to go beyond business-as-usual to achieve a higher potential through recovery from the historic 2017 hurricane season.
    The Southeast woke up this week to destruction from Irma, the second major hurricane to hit the United States in 2017, the worst hurricane season since 2005. In terms of loss of life, there is no comparison between that year ( about 1,700 deaths from Katrina alone) and 2017, but property damage may...Read more

  • Great idea: Light Imprint for walkable green infrastructure

    A leaner, lighter approach to infrastucture is more cost-effective, sustainable, and livable—an idea worth considering for America in National Infrastructure Week.
    In celebration of the 25th Congress for the New Urbanism , 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...Read more

  • Is placemaking a 'new environmentalism?'

    If our approach to environmentalism should be "new," so too should our approach to urbanism.
    Can placemaking – in short, the building or strengthening of physical community fabric to create great human habitat – be a “new environmentalism”? The question is posed by a provocative short essay , which I first discovered in 2011. Written by Ethan Kent of the Project for Public Spaces, the...Read more

  • Great idea: Sustainable urbanism

    The trend toward complete communities shapes the debate on sustainability and environmentalism, and vice-versa.
    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