• The life-saving benefits of street trees

    A US Forest Service study indicates that street trees save lives and provide direct health benefits that far outweigh the costs of planting and maintenance.
    The planting of street trees may be more beneficial than previously thought. Street trees have long been connected to many positive outcomes —from reducing urban heat islands, to improving traffic safety, to cutting air pollution and raising property values—but researchers at the Portland Forestry...Read more

  • CNU Board names new co-leaders, Rick Cole returns to city government

    After providing steady leadership through a period of transition and staff growth, Rick Cole has announced that he will be leaving CNU in December to accept a position as the Deputy Chief Controller for the city of Los Angeles. The Board of Directors unanimously voted to name Mallory Baches as the...Read more

  • Building ‘missing middle,’ first step to suburban retrofit

    For much of the last six or seven decades, we’ve seen limited housing options in suburbia—generally single-family housing for sale, or apartment complexes with units for rent. In Gainesville, Florida, a South Carolina developer is offering a different option—namely cottages, for rent, with the...Read more

  • Shifting gears: Parking reform gains traction

    Minimum off-street parking requirements have created a host of problems, leading cities and states to rethink this policy. The wave of reform is just beginning, because the oversupply from a century of misguided parking policy is likely to persist.
    Columbus, Ohio, invented the first known off-street parking requirement for an apartment building in 1923. After nearly a hundred years, the results are in, and they’re not good. Last year, an assessment of the local zoning code—commissioned by the city as part of a comprehensive code revision...Read more