CNU July 2008 e-Update

Dear [Firstname],

If you have an item for a future e-Update, please email Lee Crandell. If you have further questions about CNU activities, please contact our office at cnuinfo@cnu.org or 312-551-7300.

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1. Last Chance to Bring Your Ideas to CNU 17!

CNU organizes our annual Congress as a forum for your ideas -- but we need to hear those ideas by August 15 in order to consider them for next year's Congress, CNU 17 in Denver, June 10-13, 2009. Submit your ideas at http://www.cnu.org/cnu17.

As the world's top annual gathering of urbanists, the Congress offers us a real opportunity to work on re-orienting development practices and standards to reflect the challenging new realities of high fuel prices and climate change, as well as the renewed appreciation for the livability of cities and other walkable urban places. The theme of CNU 17 — "Experiencing the New Urbanism: The Convenient Remedy" — makes the Denver Congress a natural setting for this learning. The Congress aims to explore new urbanist remedies to major economic and environmental challenge, while experiencing the numerous new urbanist developments in and around Denver to determine how our ideas can be strengthened and improved. But only with your help will the Congress live up to its potential.

We are interested in any ideas that will challenge attendees to evaluate how the CNU Charter shapes better neighborhoods and communities and provides convenient remedies to sprawl and its problems. Use your ideas to help CNU overcome obstacles to implementing New Urbanism, to incorporate urban transportation networks, to achieve green design community-wide, and promote effective emergency response with narrow streets.

Check out CNU's current projects and initiatives, as many sessions will build upon existing CNU initiatives. Please submit your ideas by August 15 at http://www.cnu.org/cnu17.

Help us strengthen our program so we can better equip our attendees with the knowledge they need to bring New Urbanism to communities around the world.

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2. Sustainable Communities 2008 Registration Now Open

You won't want to miss CNU's Sustainable Communities 2008 event to be held in
San Francisco, September 26, 2008.

Sustainable Communities will bring together leading innovators Sim Van der Ryn, Jerry Brown, Paul Hawken, Peter Calthorpe, Stewart Brand, and Peter Schwartz in San Francisco for a rare one-day seminar on the past and future of sustainable communities. With Jacky Grimshaw of the Center for Neighborhood Technology moderating, they will explore the juncture of ecology and urbanism that's more critical than ever. As fossil fuel costs soar and carbon emissions threaten the global environment, sustainable communities are an essential way to move forward and prosper. The participants in Sustainable Communities 2008 are the ultimate guides to this transformation.

A special conference luncheon, included in the full registration or available by separate ticket, will honor Sim Van der Ryn with a CNU Athena Award, which is given to design and development leaders who laid the foundation for the current rediscovery of urbanism and community sustainability.

Visit the website and register today to take advantage of the early registration discount.

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3. Housing Market Turmoil and Rising Gas Prices Reveal Lasting Value of Urbanism

Don't miss CNU's special Google map that plots media reports from around the country on how urbanism is offering relief from high gas prices and outperforming sprawl in today's market.

New Urbanists have long known that Americans deserve communities that give them transportation choices. Suddenly, a seismic shift has occurred which appears to have validated this argument. Record-high gasoline prices has severely diminished the market appeal of suburban sprawl just as the easy-money mortgage machine, which made sprawl look so affordable, has shut down. Meanwhile, good urbanism has clearly demonstrated its enduring value even amidst the economic challenges.

[Read full story...]

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4. What's New @ CNU.org

Here's a sample of what's happening at CNU.org:

CNU Joins Transportation for America Campaign
@ http://www.cnu.org/node/2319
The interstate highway system has been completed. The era of cheap gasoline is over and Americans are hurting. Bridges are crumbling. Older and rural Americans are stranded. Our foreign policy is literally over a barrel. The current national transportation program is essentially unchanged from the 1950s, when gas was a nickel a gallon and President Eisenhower set us on a course to build the interstate highway system. Today, we live in a very different world. Americans are begging for transportation options that are cheaper, faster and cleaner.

The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) has become a partner in Transportation for America, a campaign to ensure that the reauthorization of the federal transportation bill next year will provide us with a 21st century transportation system -- one that can get us where we need to go quickly and efficiently, end our dependence on oil, clean up the air, and provide us with better, stronger communities. [read more...]

CNU on CNN: Norquist Touts Location Efficiency on "Issue #1"
@ http://www.cnu.org/node/2253
As Americans are rousted from our collective 50-year torpor by ever-rising gasoline prices, newspapers and television stations around the country are finally realizing what we've known for a long time: location efficiency matters. [read more...]

Forbes Reports: "America's Most Fuel-Efficient Neighborhoods"
@ http://www.cnu.org/node/2284
"With the national average price of gasoline topping $4 a gallon, it's a propitious time to make the case for gas-sipping neighborhoods. Indeed, Americans coping with soaring energy costs are choosing to spend their economic stimulus checks at the gas pump and reduce their driving habits by billions of miles." [read more...]

CMAP's Regional Indicators Workshops in Northeastern Illinois
@ http://www.cnu.org/node/2315
The Regional Indicators Project is part of CMAP’s innovative GO TO 2040 comprehensive planning campaign. To develop and evaluate strategies for implementing the GO TO 2040 regional vision, CMAP is working with partners to create indicators for predicting and measuring economic, environmental, social, and cultural variables that affect quality of life. [read more...]

CNU XVI Open Source Congress report available
@ http://www.cnu.org/node/2288
For those who attended CNU XVI's Open Source Congress and would like to view the results, the Final Report is now available on CNU XVI's website site. The report is a great summary of all the topics covered. It details the list of sessions held, has notes and sign-in forms from the session, and worksheets for further use such as proposal forms and action planning forms. Take a look! [read more...]

Walk Score Announces America's Most Walkable Neighborhoods
@ http://www.cnu.org/node/2303
Today Walk Score unveiled its rankings of the 2,508 most walkable neighborhoods in the United States. This is a great resource from Walk Score, and a fun one to boot. See how your neighborhood matches up to the most walkable neighborhoods in the country. [read more...]

Video: CEOs for Cities' Driven to the Brink
@ http://www.cnu.org/node/2297
Check out this fun video from CEOs for Cities: A new analysis shows that high gas prices are not only implicated in the bursting of the housing bubble, but that the higher cost of commuting has already re-shaped the landscape of real estate value between cities and suburbs. Housing values are falling fastest in distant suburban and exurban neighborhoods where affordability depended directly on cheap gas. [read more...]

HSBC Seeks USGBC's Gold Certification for new Mettawa Headquarters, Benfield reacts
@ http://www.cnu.org/node/2289
Development and Construction - International Herald Tribune: "HSBC, the giant London-based bank, has moved its North American headquarters to a sprawling facility that it bills as carbon neutral in this hamlet just north of Chicago." [read more...]

If you haven't experienced CNU.org yet, it's time for you to see what you're missing. Please take a moment to log into our site and learn about the features it has to offer. Please read our Login Instructions to get started.

Visit http://www.cnu.org/features to learn more about the website.

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5. Third International CEU Congress, Sept. 14-16 in Oslo

Following successful congresses in Berlin 2005 and Leeds 2006, the Council for European Urbanism (CEU) will hold its third international congress in Oslo, Norway, Sept. 14-16, 2008.  Learn the latest from Europe and internationally on the rapidly-evolving topic of "Climate Change and Urban Design." What is the latest research from Europe and internationally? What are the policy consequences for urban development internationally? What are the new tools available to reduce climate gas emissions from urban settlements and transportation? What is in store for policy and practice?
  
The congress will welcome government officials, planners, architects, social scientists, ecologists, developers, local community activists, and all other development stakeholders from Europe and internationally, who feel a responsibility to contribute to more sustainable urban development.

Pre-registration for conference by June 1: €220 ($340).  After June 1: €250 ($390). Registration includes buffet lunches. Inquire about special discounts.

For more information, go to www.ceunet.org, or email Audun Engh, Conference Coordinator, audun.engh@gmail.com.

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6. Upcoming Courses from the Form-Based Codes Institute

Save the date for the following Form-Based Code trainings. Visit the Form-Based Codes Institute website for more information and a full list of events.

FBC 101: Introduction to Form-Based Coding
September 26-27, 2008, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ
November 20-21, 2008, Oak Park, IL

Registrations are being taken on the FBCI website: www.formbasedcodes.org

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7. National Charrette Institute's Upcoming Trainings

Visit the National Charrette Institute (NCI) website for details on upcoming trainings. Current CNU members receive a 10% discount on NCI registration fees for public trainings held in Portland. Please note that all NCI trainings in the United States will qualify for AICP credit hours.

Harvard University Graduate School of Design · August 4 - 6
Executive Education Summer Program
NCI Charrette Planner® Certificate
For more information and to register, visit:
http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/exec_ed/details.cgi?offering_id=101397

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Congress for the New Urbanism
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