New Urbanism

Home Economics

Philip Langdon comments on the the economy of oil and its effects on urban design in the July/August issue of New Urban News.

July 28, 2008 - New Urban News

Hercules Backs 'New', 'Smart' Waterfront

Plans for a "new urbanist/smart growth" development on the waterfront of the San Francisco Bay Area town of Hercules has received unanimous approval from the city council, eliminating the need for inclusion on the November ballot.

July 28, 2008 - The Contra Costa Times

A Portrait of New Urbanism

Terrain.org profiles Bradburn Village, a successful New Urbanist project in Westminster, Colorado. As one resident puts it, 'Bradburn is designed around community.'

July 25, 2008 - Terrain.org

Appalachia Creates a 'Suitability Map' to Entice Responsible Development

A key idea of western North Carolina's Mountain Landscapes Initiative is to create a map of land already in conservation, layered with land that should be preserved, so that developers, builders, and residents together can plan responsibly.

July 24, 2008 - New Urban News

New Urbanism at 15

New Urbanism as a movement is fifteen years old this year; a state by state analysis by New Urban News shows steady growth (in some places more than others) and produced some surprises as well.

June 17, 2008 - New Urban News

Bicycling in U.S. is Risky Business

The US has never encouraged cycling as a practical mode of travel, and as a result, biking to work is a rare and hazardous activity, with four times the fatality rate of some European countries. A Rutgers University study shows how that can change.

June 15, 2008 - New Urban News

Barn-Raising For the 21st Century

An old-fashioned community barn-raising in Masonville, Texas could in fact be a glimpse of the future.

June 7, 2008 - Fort Collins Now

A Small Town From Scratch

Developer Casey Roloff has built an ambitious new community on the Washington coast with New Urbanist ideas and a Northwest flavor.

May 28, 2008 - The News Tribune

Duany Plans For 'Urban Agriculture' in B.C.

Andres Duany led a recent charrette in Tsawwassen, B.C., resulting in a unique plan focused on walkability and local agriculture.

May 21, 2008 - Delta Optimist

Is New Urbanism A 'Last Gasp' Attempt to Reform Suburbanism?

Plans to bring New Urbanist designs into British Columbia will do little to stem suburban sprawl, according to this column from the Globe and Mail.

May 21, 2008 - The Globe & Mail

New Urbanist Town Designed For Ultimate In Green Living

A planned New Urbanist development in Northern California wants enable its eventual residents to live within their prescribed ecological footprint.

May 10, 2008 - The Washington Post

Earth To Houston: Wake Up And Smell The Greenhouse Gas Emissions

While the American Dream Coalition celebrates the 'freedom and affordability' of Houston -- Robert Steuteville wonders why the group ignores the environmental and financial consequences of such an auto-dependent city.

April 29, 2008 - New Urban News

Strenghtening The Center City Is Not Enough

Harald Bodenschatz calls for a radical shift in the urban planning discourse when he claims for a revitalization not only of the downtown, but of the district centers and of suburbia itself, which should be made denser and more valuable.

April 29, 2008 - The Urban Reinventors Online Urban Journal

New Urban Developers Surviving The Current Economic Storm

As the housing industry flounders, New Urbanist developers are using the flexibility inherent in their community plans to their advantage.

April 28, 2008 - New Urban News

Words Of Advice For The New Urbanism Movement

While The New Urbanism has certainly helped to change the way people think about how communities can be built, it's still seen as a boutique product. More needs to be done if New Urbanist developments are to really compete with mainstream sprawl.

April 21, 2008 - City Journal

Urbanismo Nuevo

New Urbanism sprouts up in Baja California, Mexico.

March 10, 2008 - The New York Times

The Urban Nightmare Of Le Corbusier

The machine-city envisioned by Le Corbusier, and made into practice in decades of modernist bureaucracy, has ultimately produced, according to Simon Richards' essay, an antisocial environment, against which urban planning seems to be now reacting.

March 4, 2008 - The Urban Reinventors Online Urban Journal

Measuring Success At Kentlands

After nearly 20 years, has the New Urbanist development Kentlands been successful at achieving its goal of creating a strong community?

November 5, 2007 - The Washington Post

Place Trumps Mobility Equals Paradise

Although it is sometimes difficult to recognize in day-to-day planning activities, our ultimate goal is to make the world better, that is, to help create paradise on earth. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it! There are two different and often conflicting concepts of how to create paradise. It is important that planners understand the differences between them.

November 4, 2007 - Todd Litman

Does planning = zoning?

I would like to think that the overwhelming response to the question posed in the title would be a resounding, "No!"  I never gave the issue much thought before last week because frankly, I didn't really need to.  Working in a city like Philadelphia where the overwhelming percentage of proposed projects requires a zoning variance, we've trained ourselves to work within an imperfect system and make the best of what's at hand.  (It should be noted that Philadelphia is about to embark upon a process to re-vamp the zoning code, but that is for another post in the future).  More importantly, the issues faced by some neighborhoods go a lot deeper than zoning.  So why this post?

May 21, 2007 - Scott Page

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.