Sam Newberg - Joe Urban's blog

A pitched battle has emerged in Minneapolis between two groups, one advocating for the preservation of a large single-family home and the other favoring its demolition to allow for a 45-unit infill project by the Lander Group. The preservationist have accused those in favor of demolition of "extremist new urbanism." A slightly more level-headed reporting abo

In Minneapolis, a recent post by Joe Urban (me) has generated some talk and action. The three neighborhood groups bordering the section of roadway in question may be forming an alliance to support the points of this post, and the Minneapolis Pedestrian Advisory Committee may be as well. We'll keep you in the loop on this, but any recommendations from the CNU network are much appreciated.

When it opened in 2010, Walnut Creek Apartments provided 422 apartment units and 35,000 square feet of street-facing retail immediately adjacent to the Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre Station of the BART system, located in Walnut Creek, California, in the bay area east of San Francisco. What isn’t immediately evident when visiting this attractive transit-oriented development is that it is the culmination of a decade of planning that followed several proposed projects that were rejected by the public prior to that.

We hope to see you all at CNU 19 in Madison, but if you want to arrive by train, you are sadly out of luck.

Read the latest post at Citiwire by Roberta Brandes Gratz about shrinking cities. It may surprise you. Please share your thoughts on the issue.

Good news from Cincinnati - they are moving ahead with plans for their streetcar. Read about it here at the Cininnati Enquirer.

 The following post was written by George Brock Scott:

CNU is sad to learn of the tragic accident that took the life of architect and new urbanist Michael Barranco.  He was killed Tuesday night in a car accident in Tunica County, Mississippi. Based in Jackson, Mississippi, Barranco was actively involved with the Gulf Coast CNU chapter, and helped lead the Mississippi Renewal Forum in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Great news in the fight against the tunnel due to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct, aka "Big Dig West" - Mayor Mike McGinn, bravely going against nearly all of the Seattle City Council, has vetoed the contract to construct the tunnel, citing a variety of legitimate reasons.