• State-of-the-art code for a walkable city

    In its new form-based code, Somerville ditches a Model T zoning engine and adopts 21st Century green design. The code won a 2020 CNU Charter Award in the Metropolis, City, and Town category for the City of Somerville.
    Somerville, Massachusetts, recently adopted a state-of-the-art form-based code that brings together much of the wisdom that urbanists have acquired over the last 30 years. Remarkably, the code was largely written by in-house city planners, who include skilled urbanists with many years of experience...Read more

  • CNU statement on George Floyd

    The Board of Directors of the Congress for the New Urbanism is heartbroken, along with so many Americans, at the death of George Floyd and the long line of tragedies that continue to lay bare the persistence of deep-seated racism in our country. As we all struggle to come to terms with these events...Read more

  • Introducing townhouse living to a city

    Beatrice Row brings the classical row house to Coral Gables, Florida, along with zoning guidelines for this type. The project won a 2020 CNU Charter Award in the Block, Street, and Building category for de la Guardia Victoria Architects & Urbanists.
    Beatrice Row elegantly introduces a new building type, the townhouse, to the City of Coral Gables in a way that allows a transition between the high-rise downtown to surrounding single-story detached neighborhoods. The design elegantly employs classical architecture on an infill site. The block of...Read more

  • Anchors away: Repurposing regional malls to meet new community needs

    The economic effects of the COVID pandemic will accelerate the departure of anchor department stores from regional malls. How can these spaces be adapted to make our communities more resilient in the post-COVID economy?
    For the past two decades, the North American retail landscape has been in a transitional state. Shopping preferences have shifted, to increasingly favor place-based destinations with a mix of uses and design elements rooted in traditional urbanism . Simultaneously, the business model that sustained...Read more