The CNU Charter Awards recognize exemplary work by CNU members and their allies who design and build places people love. The winners not only embody and advance the principles of the Charter of the New Urbanism, they make a difference in people's lives.
The Charter identifies three major scales of geography for design and policy purposes. The largest scale is composed of regions. The middle scale is made up of neighborhoods, districts, and corridors. The smallest scale is composed of blocks, streets, and buildings.
The Charter Awards are given to projects at each scale, with special recognition reserved for the best projects at the professional and student levels. The CNU Charter Awards, given annually since 2001, are the world's preeminent award for urban design, placemaking, and community building.
2025 Charter Award Winners:
Charter Award - Generational Project Award
- Downcity Providence Plan, Providence, Rhode Island—DPZ CoDesign and Cornish Associates
Charter Award
- Cape Cod Resiliency: Missing Middle, Cape Cod, Massachusetts—Union Studio Architecture & Community Design
- Eastdale Main Street Village, Poughkeepsie, New York—Union Studio Architecture & Community Design
- Growing Together, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada—City of Kitchener
- Revitalization of Westminster Street, Providence, Rhode Island—Union Studio Architecture & Community Design
- Vermont Homes for All Toolkit, Vermont—Utile, Inc.
Merit Award
- A Framework Plan for Cherokee Village, Cherokee Village, Arkansas—University of Arkansas Community Design Center
- Cherry Creek and Speer Boulevard Vision and Feasibility Study, Denver, Colorado—HDR
- Midwest Pre-Approved Building Programs for Rebuilding Neighborhoods, Kalamazoo, Michigan and South Bend, Indiana—Cities of Kalamazoo and South Bend
- Preserving History: Assessments and Climate Adaptations at The House of the Seven Gables, Salem, Massachusetts—Union Studio Architecture & Community Design
- The Shockoe Project, Richmond, Virginia—Baskervill
- Tyler Station, Dallas, Texas—Options Real Estate Investments
- Zone 3, Boston, Massachusetts—Harvard University
Student Merit Award
- Construyendo Guatemala: Tradition and Technology, Antigua, Guatemala—Deisy Velasquez, University of Maryland
- Regenerative Conservation: Centering Preservation Philosophy within Urban Planning Policy, Denver, Colorado—Sean Gaouette, University of Notre Dame
Honorable Mention
- Groveland Dark Sky Initiative, Groveland, Florida—City of Groveland
View the project videos from the 2025 ceremony here.
View the boards from the 25th anniversary Charter Awards Exhibit Hall here.
