• Florida DOT hits milestone in context-based design

    As part of its Complete Streets Implementation, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) recently adopted eight context classifications to guide road design decisions.
    As part of its Complete Streets Implementation , the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) recently adopted eight context classifications to guide road design decisions. Under this new system, planners and engineers will consider existing and future characteristics such as land uses, building...Read more

  • The Thirty Years' War rages on

    In architecture, the constant search for the new no longer represents freedom. Urbanism and sustainability are nobler and more practical imperatives.
    Why has New Urbanism turned out for the design community to be the equivalent of the Syrian War, or perhaps the whole of the Middle East conflict? Quite simply, as Dan Solomon and others have noted , there are seemingly irreconcilable differences the Academy, and little willingness to negotiate or...Read more

  • Dealing with a donkey's view of climate change

    Urbanists can contribute mightily to solving the climate problem—got any plans for the next few decades?
    The Congress for the New Urbanism held a Climate Summit in Alexandria, Virginia, early this month to brainstorm on solutions to climate change. The recent catastrophic hurricanes in Puerto Rico, Texas, and Florida—some link the heightened storm activity to climate change—makes the topic especially...Read more

  • What's right for the site: Analyzing the missing middle

    The options for missing middle housing on a small redevelopment site are many, so here's a process to decide what choices make sense. Part 1.
    Over the past several years, many clients have come to us wanting to explore Missing Middle Housing on two- to five-acre sites, which seem to be a “sweet spot” for Missing Middle application, especially for smaller developer/builders and for developers of sites within larger master plans. This...Read more