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 Town Council of Huntington, New York, approved smart growth principles on October 5, 1999, that support the development of walkable, mixed-use, neighborhoods. A nonprofit citizens group, Vision Huntington, spearheaded an effective campaign to...
Comprehensive Design Solutions (CDS) in Hilton Head, South Carolina, now offers TND developers help in creating better homes and streetscapes. The firm’s developer kits include two categories of portfolios: One features 10 floor plans and three...
Homes in I’On, a TND in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, have proved popular. Housing values in this TND have skyrocketed due, in part, to a red-hot real estate market. A colonial-style single home that sold originally for $164,000 in February, 1998...
Southside, a new urbanist redevelopment of a Victorian neighborhood in Greensboro, North Carolina, is now cleared to break ground in early spring of 2000. Designed by Tom Low of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. and developed by Nate Bowman, Southside...
LUME 4, NUMBERS 1–6 (January/February – November/December, 1999)
Feature articles Issue, page
CITIES/INFILL
Pumping life into a city with urban design Jan/Feb 1, 3-6
Downtowns gaining population nationwide Jan/Feb 6
True urbanists May/Jun 1, 6...
Amicus Partners is the new home of Robert Shaw, former Dallas Cowboy and pioneering new urbanist developer. “Amicus means friends in Latin,” Shaw says, “and we are three friends who believe cities are going to be better.” Shaw’s partners are Jim...
The American Planning Association recently awarded its Outstanding Planning Award in the “Information Technology” category to an electronic Community Vision Survey conducted in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey. Designed and implemented by Looney...
The American Planning Association has published the report “Guide for Livable Communities Through ‘Smart Development.’” The report shows how communities are revamping development regulations and includes design guidelines and sample ordinances....
The new federal Transportation and Community and System Preservation Pilot program (TCSP) offers cities funds to explore the links between transportation and land use. TCSP is developed by the Federal Highway Administration, the Department of...
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) has introduced H.R. 1231, the Post Office Community Partnership Act, to address the problem of downtown post offices around the country being closed or relocated in outlying areas. At the moment the Postal Service is not...
The architectural firm Wolff-Lyon worked with city planners to create the new Business Main Street zoning district in Boulder, Colorado. The previous Commercial Business zoning mandated large setbacks and prohibited residential construction. One of...
The Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority (NRHA) is one step closer to making East Beach, a proposed traditional neighborhood development (TND) on the Chesapeake Bay, a reality. Ten developers expressed an interest in becoming the master...