• Asphalt diet reclaims a neighborhood square

    An esplanade park at the center of a Cincinnati neighborhood had been whittled away. Returned to its former glory, the square has revitalized business and boosted safety.
    Note: This case study was written for the Institute for Transportation Engineers new book Implementing Context Sensitive Design on Multimodal Corridors , funded by the Federal Highway Administration. A road diet and traffic calming measures were installed on Madison Road in Oakley Square, the...Read more

  • Highlights of a year in New Urbanism

    CNU members, the organization, and allies pushed forward on climate change and neighborhood affordability, published widely, and helped people reclaim their streets,
    At the end of every year, I like to take a moment to reflect on what we’ve done—as an organization and a movement. The work of building great places is hard, and it’s important for us to recognize and reflect on what we’ve accomplished to replenish our will to do more. CNU is both an organization...Read more

  • For Grand Rapids, a ‘people first’ development policy

    The issue has changed from whether the city will grow to how and for whom the development is taking place.
    After a declining first decade of this millennium, Grand Rapids, Michigan, has turned the corner on population growth and development. The city has grown by 4.5 percent this decade, compared to a 4.9 percent loss in the 2000s. The city of nearly 200,000 residents has seen $2 billion in development...Read more

  • Urbanism and the meaning of life

    Jane Jacobs, Christopher Alexander, and why good urbanism requires good philosophy
    I am new to New Urbanism, still finding my way around its leading ideas and projects. And as an academic, trained in philosophy no less, I sometimes wonder why I find all of this so captivating. Perhaps the reason should be obvious: there is in fact a rich philosophical dimension to contemporary...Read more