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Regulations that promote sprawl are ebbing

The overall trend is toward a more place-based, character-based legal environment, according to one of the authors of the Codes Study.

A city known for vision loses its planning chief

Brent Toderian, who gave substance to Vancouver’s EcoDensity Initiative, is out as planning director of the Canadian city.

Federal transit funding is threatened

The House Ways and Means Committee would kick transit out of the Highway Trust Fund, jeopardizing its financial backing.

Why we changed our name

The website recently shifted from New Urban Network to Better! Cities & Towns. This month, we will change the name of our print newsletter as well.

Inserting auto repair into a town center

The first four commercial tenants have been selected for Storrs Center in Connecticut. The biggest surprise, for those watching the project from a distance, is that one of the businesses is an auto repair shop.

Greenhouse on a parking garage? Who knew?

A 6,000 sq. ft. greenhouse is starting construction this January on the roof of a parking garage in the heart of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Reverse Effect: Jeanne Gang on the Chicago River

Water has become a preoccupation for the MacArthur Genius; her designs not only reflect water as a form, but speak to water systems on the whole as meshing with the built environment.

From the mayor's office (Part 1)

Stripe the streets and respect the neighborhood! — a list of Strong Town strategies.

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News and Opinion Online

How transportation planning kills streets

Robert Steuteville, Better! Cities & Towns

A new grading system is needed that acknowledges that in some places — that is to say cities and towns — people are good.

Wed, Feb 8th 2012 9:09am

A new Native American village based on tradition helps a Tribe reclaim its sustainable roots

Kaid Benfield, Better! Cities & Towns

The Ohkay Owingeh Tribe and Pueblo in New Mexico has returned to its roots with an award-winning, mixed-income housing project based on traditional Native forms.

1 Wed, Feb 8th 2012 1:40pm

New Urbanism for All?

Steve Mouzon, Better! Cities & Towns

We New Urbanists have an important choice to make, because our current rhetoric don't square up with our metrics in some important ways.

2 Mon, Feb 6th 2012 12:47pm

From the mayor's office (Part 1)

Charles Marohn, Better! Cities & Towns

Stripe the streets and respect the neighborhood! — a list of Strong Town strategies.

1 Mon, Feb 6th 2012 8:21am

The decline of the New York parking garage

The New York Times

Parking lots and garages are being snapped up and turned into sites for development—especially luxury condos.

Sun, Feb 5th 2012 8:48pm

Tea Party activists fight green projects

The New York Times

What's a planner to do? One dubious recommendation — take away the podium.

2 Sat, Feb 4th 2012 2:40pm

Federal transit funding is threatened

Better! Cities & Towns

The House Ways and Means Committee would kick transit out of the Highway Trust Fund, jeopardizing its financial backing.

Fri, Feb 3rd 2012 3:33pm

Punk Rock and the New Urbanism: Getting back to basics

Scott Doyon, Better! Cities & Towns

We’re living in an era of new economic realities, and the relevance of the planning and development trades depends on their — our — ability to get back to the basics of urban growth and development.

3 Fri, Feb 3rd 2012 8:18am

A city known for vision loses its planning chief

Better! Cities & Towns

Brent Toderian, who gave substance to Vancouver’s EcoDensity Initiative, is out as planning director of the Canadian city.

Fri, Feb 3rd 2012 2:47am

The cost of imposing urban order

Better! Cities & Towns

A stunning exhibition reveals what was destroyed by New York’s rigid street grid—and what’s been gained.

9 Wed, Feb 1st 2012 10:16pm

'Health happens in neighborhoods, not doctors' offices'

The New York Times

The New York Times health columnist focuses on how deficient community designs can undermine people's well-being.

1 Wed, Feb 1st 2012 11:45am

No, you don't need that much parking

The Globe and Mail

A tenant-to-tenant talk can show potential urban office renters that they'll do just fine with less parking.

Tue, Jan 31st 2012 12:26pm

Reverse Effect: Jeanne Gang on the Chicago River

CNU, Better! Cities & Towns

Water has become a preoccupation for the MacArthur Genius; her designs not only reflect water as a form, but speak to water systems on the whole as meshing with the built environment.

Tue, Jan 31st 2012 12:04pm

Greenhouse on a parking garage? Who knew?

Better! Cities & Towns

A 6,000 sq. ft. greenhouse is starting construction this January on the roof of a parking garage in the heart of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Tue, Jan 31st 2012 11:47am

Headlines

Debating Higher Ed: STEMs, Skills, Humanities, and Hiring

New Geography

Principle and Power in Federal Transportation

Discovering Urbanism

HaHa...Awesome

Walkable Dallas - Fort Worth

House Transportation Bill Too Extreme for Some Republicans

Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Formal Street Art as a Revitalization Strategy

Pattern Cities

Eye on the Street: Wednesday, February 8th, 2012.

CNU

Bikes Belong to Help Six Cities Build Protected Bikeways

Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Prepare for national day of calls tomorrow to oppose House transportation bill (Thursday, Feb. 9)

T4America

The Future Importance of Local Infrastructure Funding

Strong Towns

What Traffic Engineering and Retail Analysis have in common (or My rules are better than your rules)

New Urbanism blog

Currently in print

Capturing rising real estate values key to transit implementation

As money to build rail lines and transit-oriented development falls short, advocates search for new revenue sources.

Social network assists downtown rebirth

Bristol Rising in Connecticut is one of the most comprehensive small city redevelopment plans in the US.

Sprawl repair prototypes

As communities seek to fix broken real estate economies, new building prototypes that can both repair damaged urban fabric and garner financing are needed.

Alley houses: an emerging trend faces a cost test

Vancouver, British Columbia, could eventually have up to 60,000 small dwellings along lanes — if people can afford $300 a square foot.

Thinking inside the box

What would cities be like if Americans started occupying remnants of the global shipping system?

A doctor's passion for healthy communities

Review of Designing Healthy Communities, by Richard J. Jackson with Stacy Sinclair, Jossey-Bass, 2011, 261 pp., $50 hardcover.

Is Phoenix's goose cooked? The metabolism of cities.

Review of The Very Hungry City: Urban Energy Efficiency and the Economic Fate of Cities, by Austin Troy, Yale University Press, 2012, 384 pp., $28 hardcover

New funding for new infrastructure

Henry Cisneros argues that new urbanist principles can be applied to infrastructure, resulting in new, smarter, more efficient and more environmentally responsible public facilities.

A nudge towards walking saves a mountain of cash

Review of Intelligent Cities, edited by Susan C. Piedmont-Palladino, National Building Museum, 2011, 120 pp., $25 paperbound.

Civilizing suburbs as we retrofit

As urban planners and architects, we are focused on “health, safety and welfare” — but our solutions have not always put human nature at the forefront.