• Detroit's hope in neighborhood revival

    Detroit wrote the history of the motor vehicle age in America, and Detroit is one of the most automobile-oriented cities in America. Yet less than 50 percent of the adults in Detroit own a car. That fact says a lot about how Detroit has failed, and where the city is heading in the future. Detroit’s...Read more

  • CNU 24 Daily Wrap-Up for Tuesday, June 7

    New Urbanists arrive in Detroit from across the world for #CNU24
    Today, CNU 24 officially begins in Detroit, MI. Thousands of New Urbanists have traveled by plane, train, bus, bike, and foot from across the world for a Congress experience built right into the heart of Motor City, USA. Every day this week, here at Public Square: A CNU Journal , we'll collect the...Read more

  • Narrow streets do more with less

    This is good news for Strong Towns advocates concerned about the fiscal sustainability of our cities too, because simple design means less money that must be spent to build and maintain our public realm. Yet this is a point that's often not embraced by much of the urbanist community—people who are...Read more

  • The first suburban retrofit gets a neighborhood

    After two decades, Mashpee Commons is moving forward with 300-plus residential units, more shops, and civic spaces with support from the regional planning authority.
    Transformation of the former New Seabury Shopping Center in Mashpee, Massachusetts, into a town center began 30 years ago. The early-1960s strip mall at the intersection of two state highways on Cape Cod was fading and needed refurbishment. Mashpee, a suburban municipality located between two older...Read more