• Suburban retrofit with a focus on green

    Pike and Rose is a new transit-oriented downtown in Montgomery County, Maryland, with a botanical public realm.
    As the Washington Metropolitan region rapidly grows, most of the population increase is outside the core city. The more sustainable regional growth often turns underutilized parking and shopping areas into high-density, mixed-use living. Pike and Rose in Rockville, Maryland, is a leading example of...Read more

  • City looks to the stars for lighting policy

    Groveland, Florida, has adopted a Dark Sky Lighting ordinance that preserves views of the Milky Way, saves energy, and enhances streetscapes.
    Groveland, Florida, is a rapidly growing city west of Orlando, with a population that rose eightfold from 2000 to 2020. Without intervention, the Milky Way, now visible at night, would soon be obscured by light pollution like most suburban places. The city, which adopted Transect-based zoning in...Read more

  • Mapping 50-year resilience in a vulnerable region

    Just Imagine SWLA is a long-term resilience plan for Calcasieu and Cameron parishes in Louisiana. The Community Foundation Southwest Louisiana and Urban Design Associates won a 2024 CNU Charter Award in The Region: Metropolis, City, and Town category.
    Southwest Louisiana, comprising Calcasieu and Cameron parishes, is larger than Rhode Island or Delaware. The region is extremely low and vulnerable to sea-level rise and storm surge. The largest city, Lake Charles, is 30 miles inland and only 15 feet above sea level. Four federally designated...Read more

  • Dabbawalla: Low-carbon urban delivery

    The traditional, low-tech system of delivering lunches in India's largest city is an inspirational model to sustainably reduce carbon emissions.
    Every visit to Bombay (Mumbai) renews my fascination with the service that delivers home-cooked lunches to office workers. The service is provided by Dabbawalla, which literally translates to “one who carries a box,” a tiffin, a modular stainless steel lunch container. For the past 134 years, they...Read more