Archives
Welcome to the archives of Better Cities & Towns, a publication founded by Robert Steuteville as New Urban News in 1996. This archive holds two decades of the best news and analysis on compact, mixed-use growth and development, from 1996 to 2015.
The City of Pittsburgh has unveiled a smaller plan to revitalize the downtown shopping district, known as Fifth and Forbes. The current $363 million plan includes a hotel, offices, retail stores, and 580 apartments. The plan maintains an urban...
David Goldberg, an editorial writer at the Atlanta Journal Constitution and a prominent voice for New Urbanism and smart growth in Atlanta, has joined the national coalition Smart Growth America as national communications director.
Infill projects dominate as three design firms take home multiple awards.
Winners of the second annual Charter Awards were selected by a distinguished jury over the weekend of March 16. After spending days perusing more than 200 submissions from...
One of the largest Hope VI redevelopments, City West, is gearing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, near the downtown and neighborhoods affected by last year’s riots. The redevelopment of adjacent public housing projects, Lincoln Court and Laurel Homes, will...
Developer Earl Robertson has completed the first apartment building in the Lowell Neighborhood, an infill project in downtown Colorado Springs. The four-story building includes 14 units and is built next to a recently renovated, 108-year-old school...
The Revitalization Corp., chartered by the District of Columbia, has unveiled plans for a redevelopment of the southwest Potomac River waterfront into a mixed-use, pedestrian friendly neighborhood center. Plans call for apartments, shops and cafes,...
In San Diego, Mayor Dick Murphy’s City of Villages strategy is moving closer to becoming the framework for future growth in the city. The strategy’s goal is to channel growth into compact, walkable town centers and neighborhoods, and the mayor is...
The Project for Public Spaces has reprinted the classic 1980 study of New York City’s plazas, “The Social Life of Small Urban Places” by William H. Whyte. The book and companion video are available for $35 and $25 respectively. Contact: (212) 620-...
The real estate investment trust announces a shift back to focusing on conventional suburban retail properties, citing the greater risks and need for patience inherent in urban, mixed-use projects.
Under the leadership of chief ex-
ecutive...
The Knight Program in Community Building at the University of Miami has chosen its 2002 roster of fellows.
Staffing at the CNU office is going through a major transition. Andy Shafer, who was CNU’s second employee, is now working independently. CNU thanks him gratefully for his seven years handling CNU’s finances, visual identity, and day-to- day...
SMARTRAQ (Strategies for Metropolitan Atlanta’s Regional Transportation and Air Quality), a five-year, $4.3-million investigation into the links between land use, transportation policy, air quality, and public health, has completed its first phase,...