• New Urbanism and Its Influences in Northwest Arkansas

    We created a Google map —and a drawn illustration above—of places in Northwest Arkansas (NWA) that have either shaped or been shaped by our movement that prioritizes walkability, human-scale design, and compact, mixed-use development. The map was created in honor of CNU 34 , being held in Northwest...Read more

  • Organizing regional growth around a bike-ped trail

    The Razorback Greenway Corridor Plan turns a multi-city trail into an armature for regional growth. Field Operations and Blockwright won a 2026 CNU Charter Award in the Region: Metropolis, City, and Town category.
    The Razorback Greenway Corridor Plan transforms a 40-mile multi-city trail into the organizing regional framework for development in fast-growing Northwest Arkansas. The Greenway, built over the last 10 years, links seven cities and is one of the most important regional bike-ped trails in the US...Read more

  • Growth Without Sameness: Why CNU 34 in Northwest Arkansas matters now

    Northwest Arkansas is hosting CNU 34 this year, and it is not an accidental choice. This is one of the fastest growing regions in the country, and one of the few still deciding what that growth should look like.
    For planners, designers, and local officials asking whether the trip is worth it, the answer is not in the sessions alone. It is in the conditions on the ground. Growth, money, civic investment, and a political culture that is unusually open to New Urbanist ideas, whether or not it uses that...Read more

  • Turning a dead mall into a thriving urban center

    MidCity District in Huntsville, Alabama, is an exemplary model for suburban retrofit. Urban Design Associates won a Merit Award in the Neighborhood, District, and Corridor category of the 2026 CNU Charter Awards.
    The MidCity District replaces a 140-acre failing mall site with a block-and-street network that offers tremendous opportunities to develop valuable real estate supporting a high-quality public realm. The Huntsville, Alabama, project was designed in 2015 and adapted to changes wrought by the...Read more