• How urbanism, density, and spatial enclosure are related

    Dhiru Thadani and Matt Bell, along with the CNU-DC Chapter board, orchestrated the recent Council on “ Density Without Urbanism/Urbanism Without Density. ” They see the event as the beginning of a series of CNU discussions on density and urbanism. “We wanted to understand what others were thinking...Read more

  • When is density good, and when is it harmful to cities?

    Providing density that supports a high quality of life requires a love for cities, putting ‘urbanism’ front and center, according to noted urban designers.
    Seventy-one New Urbanists, including many of the movement’s leading lights, gathered in Washington recently to address a set of increasingly urgent questions: If density is good for a city, how much of it should there be? How tall should the buildings rise? What forms should they take? Everyone...Read more

  • The role of community advocacy

    CNU’s biennial Freeways Without Futures report is out now! In a series of articles, Public Square is exploring common threads from the report. Article three focuses on how community campaigns can influence public policy related to in-city highways.
    With many of these hulking, burdensome highways reaching the end of their useful lifespans, communities are looking for alternatives to costly highway repair and expansion. The campaigns in this report offer a pathway to better health, equity, opportunity, and connectivity in every neighborhood,...Read more

  • Reconnecting Communities with federal financing

    CNU’s biennial Freeways Without Futures report is out now! In a series of articles, Public Square is exploring common threads from the report. Article two focuses on Reconnecting Communities financing.
    This year’s report is the first to coincide with acknowledgment from the federal government of the inequitable and harmful impacts of urban highway construction. Financing for the first round of funding through the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program awarded $185 million in grants to 45 projects...Read more