• ‘Pattern zone’ enables quality infill development

    The Midtown Pattern Zone in Bryan, Texas, is designed to raise the level of design for economical infill. The zone won a merit award for the Infill Group and Miller Boskus Lack Architects in the Emerging Projects category of the 2020 CNU Charter Awards.
    The fast-growing City of Bryan, Texas, located next to Texas A&M University, was experiencing problems with “stealth dorms” and low-quality, rent-by-the-room housing in the 1.6-square-mile Midtown area. The city is seeking to raise housing quality without adding to the burdens of small...Read more

  • Town builders respond to pandemic

    New urbanist developers employ many strategies to survive the current and future economic impacts of the coronavirus crisis. While survival is paramount, downturns also offer opportunities.
    Developers are highly exposed to risk during a time of crises; Listening to their thoughts on the coronavirus is informative. In order to survive, new urbanist developers must anticipate how the crisis will impact their partners, customers, clients, regulators, and financing sources—along with many...Read more

  • Living in a new urban community in the social distancing era

    Traditional neighborhood development (TND) has offered an alternative model for suburban growth starting in the late 20 th Century and continuing today. Kentlands in Gaithersburg, Maryland, is one of the oldest of these developments. Like most TNDs, it has a strong sense of community—a quality that...Read more

  • A model of New Urbanism in Panama

    The La Fontana District, designed by Moule & Polyzoides, contrasts with sprawl and uncontrolled infill that has damaged the historic city of David, Panama. The plan won a merit award in the Emerging Projects category of the 2020 CNU Charter Awards.
    La Fontana District is a 96-acre new district located to the west of the historic city of David, Panama, on a site facing the Pan-American Highway, which stretches from Alaska to Argentina. Over the decades, uncontrolled infill development and random sprawl have eroded the urban form and ecology of...Read more