Clik here to view.
Cities safer than ever, and the more diverse the better
Cross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. I wrote in May about a report by Richard Florida that city crime had dropped to its lowest rate in 40 years. Now there’s more: Last week,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
'Katrina cottages' become permanent housing
Photo: Affordable Housing Institute Cross-posted from Natural Resources Defense Council. One of the more creative ideas to emerge in those hectic (and, for some, tragic) days following Hurricane...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Jane Jacobs on neighborhoods, placemaking, and active living [VIDEO]
Jane Jacobs.Photo: Sam Beebe Cross-posted from Natural Resources Defense Council. Amazingly, the video below is the first time I have seen and heard the late Jane Jacobs speak. Everyone in my world...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How smart growth in cities saves wilderness [VIDEO]
Photo: Kai HagenCross-posted from Natural Resources Defense Council. It’s certainly well-known among my colleagues that I am passionate about cities. I’m proud to think of myself as an urbanist who...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Atlanta BeltLine: The country’s most ambitious smart growth project
Beginning trail construction on the BeltLine.Photo: Angel Luis PoventudCross-posted from Natural Resources Defense Council. I once called the Atlanta BeltLine “the country’s best smart growth...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Net zero living in a walkable neighborhood
Historic photo of Matt and Kelly Grocoff’s house.Photo: Kelly & Matt’s Net Zero House Cross-posted from Natural Resources Defense Council. Matt and Kelly Grocoff have renovated their 110-year-old...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New survey shows Americans think they are great drivers. But …
Photo: woodleywonderworksCross-posted from Natural Resources Defense Council. The majority of Americans consider themselves to be good drivers, according to a new survey from Allstate. But the rest of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Seeing cities as the environmental solution, not the problem
New York City.Photo: Werner KunzCross-posted from Natural Resources Defense Council. For a long time, America’s environmental community celebrated wilderness and the rural landscape while disdaining...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Let's make urban revitalization greener, greater, and more inclusive
Green, affordable homes in Savannah, Ga.Photo: Seven Waves MarketingCross-posted from Natural Resources Defense Council. When revitalization of our distressed neighborhoods is done well, it is almost...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is this the world’s greenest neighborhood?
Dockside Green.Photo: jayscratchCross-posted from Natural Resources Defense Council/The Atlantic. I recently took a vacation to Victoria, B.C., a wonderful city that — among other good things — is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Striking images of disconnected streets and unwanted sprawl
Cross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Image: mapei Posting on boston.com, the website of The Boston Globe, Alan Taylor has presented 26 striking images of Florida sprawl, much of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A very impressive two weeks for the federal sustainability partnership
Atlanta was awarded $47 million for the construction of a new streetcar line. This image is one suggestion of how the project may look when completed.Image: Galounger Cross-posted from the Natural...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rebuilding a historic neighborhood where some risked all for their humanity
King leading the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery to protest lack of voting rights for African Americans. Beside King are John Lewis, Reverend Jesse Douglas, James Forman, and Ralph...
View ArticleClik here to view.
'Cities' may not matter as much as we think
Cross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. I’m going to start by being deliberatively provocative: “Cities” don’t matter nearly as much as we sometimes suggest. I surround the word with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
U.S. homes are right-sizing and greening
A rendering of what the New Economy Home might look like.Cross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. The median size of a new single-family home in the U.S. was around 2,300 square feet...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ten affordable neighborhoods-in-progress will design to LEED-ND standards...
This redevelopment in South Boston’s Old Colony is going to emphasize walkable streets, open spaces, and on-site renewable energy generation.Photo: Boston Redevelopment Authority Cross-posted from the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Residents of award-winning transit-oriented development say no to transit
Cross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Photo: thecourtyard So much for the widely-touted concept of “transit-ready” development. The residents of an acclaimed New Urbanist village...
View ArticleClik here to view.
An arts district brings life to Syracuse — and it’s green, too
Photo: SALT District Cross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Coauthored by Aaron Welch. Take one part Paducah (arts-driven revitalization), one part Old North Saint Louis (incremental...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Are ‘smart cities’ not as smart as they think they are?
Smart cities like Masdar, in Abu Dhabi, are all the rage. But are they intelligent in the right way?Photo: Trevor PattCross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Intelligent cities” and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The EPA chooses sprawl over urban sustainability
Cross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. In defiance of the environmental values it supposedly stands for, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is moving its regional...
View ArticleClik here to view.
11 U.S. cities honored as ‘walk-friendly': Seattle ranks first
Seattle got the “platinum” ranking for its efforts to make the city more walkable.Photo: chrissudermanCross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. After evaluating applicant communities in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bringing a dead public plaza to life in Dallas
Cross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Although it sometimes makes “ugliest building in the world” lists, I rather like I.M. Pei’s iconic Dallas City Hall, featuring his trademark...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The man who thinks Manhattan isn’t dense enough
New York City may not be the best example of a place that hasn’t lived up to its potential for greater density.Photo: Randy von LiskiCross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. New York...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Suburban corporate campuses are going out of fashion
Is the corporate suburban stampede finally reversing? Photo: KevinCross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. In the late 1990s, when Don Chen, Matt Raimi, and I were researching our...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How smart growth reduces emissions
Cross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Rob Steuteville has posted a terrific analysis on the New Urban Network rebutting the claim by the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB)...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Seattle development that is greener than green
Cross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Leave it to a city famous for coffee and rain to produce possibly the best example of transit-oriented urbanism, natural public space, and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Which part of Detroit really needs to be ‘right-sized’?
Photo: Trey CampbellCross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. At the bottom of this post are two short videos about Detroit, both featuring architect and planner Mark Nickita, principal...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Five provocative ways to think about cities and neighborhoods
Photo: Chuck WolfeCross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. One of the tenets of Buddhism is mindfulness: being fully present and aware. Although I am far from a religious person, I get...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Car costs may make it harder to save
Cross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. This study [PDF], based on 2001 data from Canada, isn’t new. But it is telling, and I suspect the only distinctions between its findings and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A closer look at Siemens' green cities rankings
San Francisco won for overall greenest city.Photo: aufmkolk Cross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. I may as well start with the caveat that any attempt to measure, score, or rank...
View Article
