Sustainability

Sustainable urban design, policy advocacy, and citizen engagement are increasingly important to transform global climate goals into local realities after the UN Climate Change Conference.
Team 11, named after a UN sustainable development goal, wants CNU members to have a more significant impact worldwide to address climate change and other issues. The group is looking to sponsor a pilot project in Ukraine.
A bold vision of Agricultural Urbanism is now taking shape in British Columbia, 15 years after it was planned at the peak of the Great Recession.
The South Carolina city is pushing back against the US Army Corps of Engineers, who propose a perimeter wall to defend against storm surge. Charleston envisions a levy and range of public spaces in a Civic Design Opportunities Report.
ReLeaf Cedar Rapids is a plan to restore the Iowa city’s decimated tree canopy, with a focus on equity and placemaking. Speck & Associates and Confluence won a CNU 2023 Charter Award in the Region: Metropolis, City, and Town category.
The Higher Ground Initiative in Nauru is a plan for a Pacific island nation that is threatened by sea level rise. Metrocology and CIVIC/URBAN won a Merit Award in The Region: Metropolis, City, and Town category of the 2023 Charter Awards.
These three projects represent different and inspired approaches to addressing the pressing issues of climate and equity.
News that mining of lithium comes up short to solve the climate crisis highlights a need for walkability and micromobility.
Korkut Onaran, author of Urbanism for a Difficult Future, has developed community planning ideas around self-sufficient places that rely on local technology.
The passage of the Biden Administration’s climate change package, the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act,” has predictably split along partisan lines, with Republicans characterizing the bill as an act of reckless government spending, certain to...
A levee, with promenade, would connect Norfolk’s citizens to the waterfront and protect against rising seas. The city is developing a comprehensive vision for how to “thrive” with climate change.
I love these boardwalks in Carlton Landing, a new town in Oklahoma. The houses face a tiny pedestrian thoroughfare that consists of the boardwalk and rain gardens. The rainwater simply soaks into the ground.