• Suburban retrofit with a focus on green

    Pike and Rose is a new transit-oriented downtown in Montgomery County, Maryland, with a botanical public realm.
    As the Washington Metropolitan region rapidly grows, most of the population increase is outside the core city. The more sustainable regional growth often turns underutilized parking and shopping areas into high-density, mixed-use living. Pike and Rose in Rockville, Maryland, is a leading example of...Read more

  • Bringing back the lost art of Main Street buildings

    Small-scale mixed-use buildings are popular in Norton Commons, a new urbanist community in Louisville; here’s the latest example.
    All over America, commercial districts are filled with small, 2- to 3-story buildings with commercial spaces on the first floor below residential units. These standard Main Street buildings, often made of brick, have been dubbed “live works” in recent decades. Live-work buildings are like mixed-use...Read more

  • Small city revival in PA

    A new urban approach yields economic benefits for small cities and towns like Phoenixville.
    Outside of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is known as a rural state. Less recognized are the many small urban municipalities throughout the state, with good historic architecture and streets. Many are gaining population. Phoenixville, a former industrial town about 20 miles northwest of...Read more

  • Looking to transform I-375 synergistically

    Officials should consider the connections that were in place before the highway when planning to remove a mile-long Detroit Interstate in lieu of a surface street.
    Like many highways that have appeared on CNU's Freeways Without Futures list over the last decade and a half, I-375 in Detroit remains in place yet a source of controversy. Michigan DOT is still considering taking out the mile-long Interstate near downtown and replacing it with a surface street—but...Read more