• Lived experience and urbanism

    The impact of urbanism on day-to-day life may be the strongest argument for change.
    I have long been wary of the term “lived experience,” as it seemed redundant. If you live through something, isn’t that an experience by definition? And isn’t all experience lived? After I heard the term applied to urbanism, however, I am coming around. Lived experience relates to day-to-day living...Read more

  • The impact of a downtown plan

    Let the ride begin: An image shows how West Palm Beach is a different place three decades after a master plan and code.
    The image above caught my eye in the Art of the New Urbanism, Volume 2 (2010-2025) . “The rendering represents an analysis of the built results of DPZ’s 1992 Downtown West Palm Beach Master Plan,” explain the AoTNU authors. “The footprints of the built/redeveloped properties appear shaded in red...Read more

  • Chautauqua-like village proposed in California

    Esmeralda Land Company has options on a former lumber mill in Cloverdale, with plans for an educational and cultural community.
    A neighborhood-scale New Urbanist development is now seeking entitlement in Cloverdale, California. The most interesting aspect about the Esmeralda development is not the design philosophy, which is in line with long-time New Urbanist practice, but rather the community “software.” The project is...Read more

  • Offering experience, intelligence, and wisdom for climate action

    A Necessary Response: The Climate Action Handbook for Urbanists is an impassioned and technically useful guide to taking action at the community level.
    As the authors of the Charter for the New Urbanism did decades ago, again CNU has produced an urgently needed document of great value. A Necessary Response: The Climate Action Handbook for Urbanists is an impassioned manifesto that clearly connects the principles and practices of New Urbanism to...Read more