Organization

In a challenging year, CNU hosted a second successful virtual Congress, brought on a new executive director, and made significant advances in programs.
New Urbanism has always been about the architecture of community—that phrase was in the subtitle of Peter Katz’s seminal 1994 book that helped launch this movement. The architecture of community has a double meaning—first, it refers to a scale of...
CNU staff, new Executive Director Rick Cole, meet in person for the first time to find new ways to support complete, sustainable neighborhoods through the architecture of community.
Note: This interview was recently published in The Planning Report: Insider’s Guide to Planning and Infrastructure. Questions posed by TPR are in bold. After more than three decades of leadership in government and public policy in...
This past week I had the pleasure to attend CNU 29.Design for Change, CNU’s annual Congress. In an oversaturated time period of virtual conferences, CNU 29 was different. It was engaging, enlightening, and entertaining. Organized as a 3-...
A quarter century ago, the Charter of the New Urbanism laid out timeless principles that are the bedrock of an influential movement.
A photograph of Rick Cole. Credit: City of Santa Monica
Over the past seven years, Lynn Richards has led CNU staff on a journey of growth – moving the organization from Chicago to Washington, DC; growing our annual Congress into the largest (and most inclusive) national placemaking event; and stewarding...
The opening of registration for CNU 29.Design for Change got me thinking about past Congresses, especially in the light of the $150 fee available for members through March 7. While tracking exact Congress fees from the early years is elusive, the...
The New Urbanism grew out of an open-minded educational environment, where students were encouraged to read and think for themselves rather than follow a particular design approach.
Sadly, Lynn Richards will be moving on from leading the Congress for the New Urbanism this year. I was shocked and deeply sorry when Lynn announced she was leaving CNU.
CNU has accomplished a great deal this year, despite the pandemic—especially in the areas of transportation, code reform, and in facilitating virtual conversations on urbanism.
Beyond the event you have come to expect, CNU staff works year-round on programs, research, and partnerships that are shaping the practice of urbanism from the local to the international level. None of this is possible without the ongoing support of...