• Welcome to Public Square: A CNU Journal

    Today marks the launch of CNU’s latest effort, an online journal to illuminate and cultivate best practices in urbanism in the US and beyond.
    Today marks the launch of CNU’s latest effort, an online journal to illuminate and cultivate best practices in urbanism in the US and beyond. We believe that community leaders, professionals involved in the built environment, and citizen-activists will all benefit from Public Square : A CNU Journal...Read more

  • Filling in the ‘Missing Middle’: No new wheels, please

    The idea is to max out the potential of existing zoning, financing, design and construction processes and to do it at scales unlikely to freak out adjacent neighbors or trigger complicated review processes.
    For lots of reasons, including the ones PlaceMakers’ Scott Doyon explains here , Seaside, on the Northwest Florida Gulf Coast, makes a great place to talk about the appeal of small-scale dwellings in small-lot neighborhoods. Certainly, hanging out in a place where the real estate market has bid up...Read more

  • Jane Jacobs: Four ways to improve cities and towns

    Influential words from the most influential writer on urban planning in modern times
    The most influential writer on urban planning in modern times, the late Jane Jacobs received the Vincent Scully Prize from the Green Building Council in 2000. Jacobs made a seminal speech offering suggestions for communities on the four topics: Empowering immigrant neighborhoods to develop freely,...Read more

  • Grass roots culture creates community

    For one warm fall Sunday afternoon, “the most diverse musical lineup of any festival in Georgia” transformed a neighborhood in Decatur, an inner-ring suburb of Atlanta.
    For one warm fall Sunday afternoon, “the most diverse musical lineup of any festival in Georgia,” according to one reviewer, transformed a neighborhood in Decatur, an inner-ring suburb of Atlanta. The streets were taken over by pedestrians and bicyclists of all ages, listening to 134 musical acts—...Read more