• Five steps to super blocks

    Designing a sophisticated city, one block at a time.
    Here's a step-by-step process to designing a piece of a city. Don't be put of by the design complexity and follow these steps, one after another: 1) Draw a truly large block—it doesn't have to be stiffly rectangular either; the best way to accomplish irregular blocks is to simply cover the space...Read more

  • City dreams

    An exhibit promotes a discordant, unsustainable model for growth in the developing world—but we have an opportunity to do better.
    A constant debate within the CNU revolves around the height of buildings. Léon Krier has emphatically stated that buildings in villages, towns, or cities should not be higher than four stories. He notes that low-rise structures are sustainable as they can function solely on human energy without the...Read more

  • Car-pedestrian interactions and the parking ribbon: Campus design, part 10

    Giant surface parking destroys the geometrical coherence and pedestrian connectivity of a campus. The solution lies in limiting the width of the parking without reducing the number of parking spaces.
    Author’s note: This is the last in a series of ten essays that present innovative techniques for designing and repairing a corporate or university campus. These tools combine New Urbanist principles with Alexandrian design methods. The controlled interaction of cars with the pedestrian realm is...Read more

  • CNU in Louisville: How to engage

    Here's the clearest and most complete explanation of the nuts and bolts of CNU's annual Congress and how to engage at every level. CNU 27.Louisville begins June 12, 2019, but engagement starts in less than two weeks.
    CNU’s annual event—affectionately known as the Congress—is now entering its 27th year. During the past several decades, the event has morphed and evolved as the movement—and staff—has changed and grown. The purpose of this article is to daylight the Congress process and provide information on how...Read more