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.
Envision Design of Berkeley, California, won a competition to design the revitalization of Isla Vista, California. Consultants David Sargent of Sargent Town Planning and transportation planners Nelson/Nygaard assisted in the proposal. The team is...
The Local Government Commission in Sacramento, California, has published an expanded and revised edition of Building Livable Communities: A Policymaker’s Guide to Infill Development, first released in 1995. The handbook includes a new chapter on...
McGraw-Hill has published a CD Rom, Architectural Elements: Traditional Construction Details, with 1,300 CAD-compatible traditional standard details by architect Stephen Mouzon. A book version is expected to be released shortly. Contact: (256) 539-...
In its latest report, Driven to Spend, the Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) set out to determine how sprawl patterns and public transit choice affect people’s transportation budgets. STPP concluded that residents spend most on...
“Since 1982, while the US population has grown nearly 20 percent, the time Americans spend in traffic has jumped an amazing 236 percent. ... The average driver now spends the equivalent of nearly a full work week each year stuck in traffic. That’s...
Sarasota County in Florida has hired the Orlando planning and consulting firm Glatting Jackson to lead a team of advisors that will flesh out the details of the county’s Resource Management Area (RMA) approach to future growth. The incentives-based...
The Board of Supervisors in Albemarle County, Virginia, has unanimously adopted The Neighborhood Model, a framework for development in designated growth areas in the Charlottesville region. New urbanist planning firm Torti Gallas and Partners/CHK...
As rental rates begin to climb, developer jump-starts a nonprofit organization to build and maintain affordable housing and space for arts groups.
Three years ago, Albuquerque’s downtown was almost devoid of housing, the office vacancy rate was...
CNU’s ninth Congress highlights regionalism and the environment.
While attendance was down slightly compared with last year’s Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), the 1,100 people gathered in New York City saw ample evidence that the New Urbanism...
Innovative regional programs in Georgia and California use DOT funds to leverage new urbanist planning and development.
In the Atlanta region, $350 million is slated to be spent on transportation improvements linked to smart growth projects in...
Jackie Benson of TND Planning and Marketing in Atlanta has opened an office in Rosemary Beach, Florida. She works as a consultant to TND developers and builders on marketing, sales, and builder programs.
Charles Brewer, the founder and former CEO of internet service provider Mindspring Enterprises, has started Green Street Properties, an Atlanta-based development company that will focus on new urbanist infill projects. Brewer’s partners are...