Why I Attend the Congress | Todd Zimmerman of ZVA, Inc.
It's no secret that the annual Congress for the New Urbanism is the leading venue for New Urbanist education, collaboration and networking. Every year, the top minds and practitioners from around the globe travel to the CNU event to engage with the ideas that give shape and meaning to the communities we inhabit. By congregating a diverse collection of thought-leaders, planners, architects, academics, government officials, students, and citizen-activists, CNU creates a community for the design of ideas, and readies them for application.
Why I Attend the Congress is a series dedicated to sharing the first-hand experience and insight gained from attending the yearly event.
The following contribution comes direct from Todd Zimmerman, CNU Board Member and managing director for Zimmerman/Volk Associates, Inc.
I still attend every congress. Almost 20 years on, the annual congress has become the premier information and social event. Of course, I’m always seeking new or refined implementation techniques; but, it’s the opportunity to get poked in the ribs by old friends and astonished by new ones that keeps me coming back.
Thoughtful and informed self-criticism is a hallmark of CNU. And--as much as I enjoy puncturing the naïve thought experiments of both the old guard and their earnest young acolytes--it is usually more productive to receive a critique than to give one. And I’ve received plenty.
Then there are the surprises: the stranger who offers a solution to an old and vexing problem simply by illuminating it from a lateral perspective; the drawing that presents an elegant variation on an efficient, but uninspiring building type; or, as happened last year, the discovery that an admired colleague shares my interest in Nabokov and vintage Bugattis.
- Todd Zimmerman.
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