• Downtown transformed by new streetscape and park

    Basalt Downtown Streetscape & River Park has renewed a struggling historic Colorado mining town. Connect One Design won a Merit Award in the Block, Street, and Building category of the 2026 CNU Charter Awards.
    A streetscape and park project revitalized the economically struggling downtown of a historic Colorado mining community while engaging the town’s history and culture. The Basalt Downtown Streetscape & River Park overcame controversy and a mid-project special referendum to create accessible...Read more

  • New housing slows or lowers rents

    A Pew report came out last year on housing construction and rents that is worth commenting on, because it addresses the most common complaint about new housing: That it drives up living costs. People see new, expensive housing that is unaffordable, they see housing prices going up, and they put two...Read more

  • City adopts code for compact, sustainable growth

    Plan Bentonville creates a framework for fiscally sustainable growth in a fast-growing region. DPZ CoDesign won a Merit Award in the Region: Metropolis, City, and Town category of the 2026 CNU Charter Awards.
    Note: CNU 34 will be held in Bentonville, Arkansas, May 12-16, where the plan and code will be discussed along with important urbanism topics worldwide. The Bentonville Community Code, a unified, Transect-based land-use code, was adopted by the City Council in mid-April. The action codifies the...Read more

  • Citywide strategy to promote Missing Middle housing

    The Sacramento Citywide Missing Middle Strategy uses a sliding-scale FAR system to spur affordable housing development. Opticos Design won a 2026 CNU Charter Award in the Region: Metropolis, City, and Town category.
    Sacramento, California, is implementing a nationally significant strategy to promote Missing Middle housing to meet a target of 45,580 new housing units citywide this decade. As the author of this strategy, which aims to provide more than 25,000 low- to moderate-income living spaces, Opticos Design...Read more