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.
Ridenour is one of the few large-scale developments planned in partnership with an environmental group. The goal was to “create a mixed-use community that would adhere to the principles of Georgia Conservancy’s ‘Blueprints for Successful Communities...
An obscure requirement of the 1997 Standard Building Code has temporarily stalled home construction in Longleaf, a TND in Odessa, Florida, reports developer Frank Starkey. Thirteen homes were already out of the ground when the local building...
A new research center on the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) campus in the new urbanist community Abacoa in Jupiter, Florida, will be devoted to studying the physical and social effects of new urbanist design. FAU’s Joint Center for Environmental...
The ever-growing new urbanist movement brings in new voices for four days of intense discussion. What does it take to keep the momentum?
CNU 2000, “The Politics of Place,” drew a record 1,500 architects, planners, activists, government officials...
With patience, traditional craftsmanship, and a love for maximizing space, builder and developer Dan Camp has given new life to the dilapidated Cotton District neighborhood in Starkville, Mississippi.
The Cotton District rebirth beganwith one...
The Local Government Commission has published Streets and Sidewalks, People and Cars: The Citizens’ Guide to Traffic Calming, prepared by Dan Burden of Walkable Communities. The 52-page publication is a hands-on guide for residents who want to...
In a region where full-scale new urbanist neighborhoods are rare, town center revitalization projects are picking up steam.
Southern California is still lacking a good model for large traditional neighborhood development (TND). Playa Vista in Los...
The American Planning Association (APA) does not officially endorse the New Urbanism, but its recent awards have lauded new urbanist plans. Two examples this year are the Growing Smart award, which went to Palm Beach County, Florida, and the...
More than 25 projects are under construction or in planning across Canada. The following list briefly tracks progress in some of the most prominent communities.
Lakeside
Located in Ajax, Ontario, designed by the Planning Partnership, and...
A CNU task force initiative confronts fire officials’ aversion to narrow streets.
The dilemma is one familiar to most new urbanist designers and developers.
CNU 2000 in Portland, Oregon, draws a record crowd of 1,400.
Developers, public officials, representatives from nonprofit community development corporations and municipal planners came to Portland in large numbers and made the eighth annual...
England is feeling the effects of sprawl. According to the Danish architecture magazine Arkitekten, almost 70 percent of the youngest English school children walked to school in 1971 — now less than 10 percent do so. Fearful that English cities may...