• Highlighting the rising pedestrian deaths nationwide

    The semi-annual Dangerous by Design identifies the most dangerous regions and deadly modern thoroughfares, designed so that too many people die in the prime of life.
    This week is a big one for the ongoing battle for safe, livable streets. The important book Killed by a Traffic Engineer was published, and Smart Growth America released its semi-annual Dangerous by Design report. US pedestrian deaths have risen 75 percent since 2010 (see chart above), and that...Read more

  • History informs a response to the housing crisis

    River City Rising shows how Spokane draws on its streetcar neighborhood origins to address its current housing problems.
    Like many cities across the US, Spokane is struggling with a lack of housing affordability. Housing costs have sharply risen in the last decade, as the city has rapidly grown. People are moving from other parts of the country to enjoy Spokane’s rich history connected to a beautiful natural...Read more

  • Exposing the pseudoscience of traffic engineering

    Wes Marshall’s new book, Killed by a Traffic Engineer, reveals the profession’s shaky, unscientific foundations—and points the way to safer, healthier streets.
    Profound frustration with traffic engineering has bedeviled New Urbanism since the movement formed in the early 1990s. Of all of the barriers to building good urbanism, two stand out: land-use codes and street planning and design. While code reform has steadily advanced, changes to street practice...Read more

  • Thinking globally, building locally

    A gathering in Italy will join new urbanists with international allies to explore and learn from great urbanism past and present.
    Cortona, Italy, may seem idyllic, but it faces many of the same challenges as other towns and rural regions in other countries: the need to provide viable economic opportunities, especially for young people; the need to build a healthy and resilient urbanism in the face of growing climate threats;...Read more