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.
Columnist Neil Peirce writes that labor unions have begun lending support to the national smart growth agenda.
The Environmental Protection Agency has launched a web site with information about smart growth policies, funding sources, networking opportunities, technical tools and resources. See www.epa.gov/smartgrowth.
Peter Swift of Swift and Associates has released a research paper on “AASHTO and the Parisian Boulevard.” The paper examines the mandates of the AASHTO “Green Book” regarding location of arterials, physical design standards, and public transit, and...
A blighted Indianapolis neighborhood gets another chance with the help of federal funds and new urban design guidelines.
The fate of the Fall Creek neighborhood on Indianapolis’ near north side mirrors that of countless urban neighborhoods in the...
The city picks a design and development team for a $350-million, transit-oriented, walkable neighborhood that will fill oceanfront property on the Rockaways peninsula in Queens.
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development...
The 209-unit Mirasol apartments are under construction adjacent to downtown Celebration near Orlando, Florida. The units average 1,700 square feet and will rent from $900 to $1,900. The project increases the density downtown, and raises the number...
One of the nation’s largest new urban brownfield projects, Mission Bay in San Francisco, is facing difficulties with the recession and collapse of the office market in the Bay area, according to the San Francisco Examiner. Catellus Corp. has stopped...
The annual report on real estate investment trends, Emerging Trends in Real Estate, is once more a benefit of CNU membership. This year, we are mailing it to all members except for associate members, at the beginning of the year, rather than waiting...
The Colorado Sprawl Action Center has named The Wellington Neighborhood in Breckenridge (see June 2001 New Urban News) to its first annual “Smart Growth Hall of Fame.” Part of the Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG), the Sprawl Action...
A $250 million, five-block project in a former industrial district of Portland, Oregon, combines new urban planning, high-density, mixed-use, contextual design, and adaptive reuse. In short, the Brewery Blocks, billed as Portland’s largest private...
The Canada Lands Company (CLC), the primary developer of government land in Canada, is moving toward making new urban principles the standard in its projects. CLC is a Crown corporation, i.e., the government is the only shareholder, which allows the...
Sprawl Watch’s recent report, “Creating a Healthy Environment: the Impact of the Built Environment on Public Health,” cites primary connections between sprawl and health as found by doctors and researchers from the CDC. Contact: allison@sprawlwatch....