• Trail-oriented development is transforming a region

    A walking and biking trail is being used as a framework for compact, mixed-use growth in Northwest Arkansas, one of the fastest-growing regions in the US. This tool for sustainable development could apply to many regions.
    Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is historically a region of small towns that are growing into mid-sized cities, largely due to Fortune 1000 companies located there, especially Walmart. NWA is one of the fastest-growing regions in the US, which poses problems because growth is occurring in an era when...Read more

  • How walkable places lead to healthier people

    Speck and Lombard outline the best research on how the built environment and health in CNU’s On the Park Bench.
    Twenty years ago, Urban Sprawl and Public Health was published, marking a watershed in our understanding of how the built environment impacts human well-being. The book by Jackson, Frank, and Frumkin explained the science of how walkable places are better for your health than living in sprawl—and...Read more

  • History informs a response to the housing crisis

    River City Rising shows how Spokane draws on its streetcar neighborhood origins to address its current housing problems.
    Like many cities across the US, Spokane is struggling with a lack of housing affordability. Housing costs have sharply risen in the last decade, as the city has rapidly grown. People are moving from other parts of the country to enjoy Spokane’s rich history connected to a beautiful natural...Read more

  • Living ‘car-free’ in the Arizona desert

    A YouTube influencer takes for a tour of Culdesac Tempe, one of the more interesting new developments today.
    A Harvard researcher with a heat gun last summer measured the temperatures on the Tempe, Arizona, sidewalk at 137°F—but inside a new car-free development the plaza surface was 90°F. That’s one eye-opening data point offered in a new video of Culdesac Tempe, one of the most-closely watched US...Read more