CNU e-Update
November 2008

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1. Charter Awards Call for Submissions
2. Public Comment Now Open for LEED-ND
3. Call for Papers for CNU 17
4. Before Dash to Invest Billions in Transport Systems, Experts Meet to Redesign Them So They Work Better
5. What's New @ CNU.org
6. Call for Smart Growth Streets Case Studies
7. Registration Open for 8th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference, Jan. 22-24, Albuquerque, N.M
8. Seaside Institute: Upcoming Events
9. Form-Based Codes Institute: 2009 Driehaus Form-Based Codes Awards and Upcoming Trainings
10. National Charrette Institute: Upcoming Trainings

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1. Charter Awards Call for Submissions

Submit Your Work for New Urbanism's Premier Annual Award

Where conventional sprawl generates enormous amounts of carbon emissions, erodes the bonds of community and strains the connection between cities and the rural areas that help sustain them, the revival of urbanism produces places of enduring delight, value, and resiliency.

CNU's Charter Awards recognize the best of that work. In doing so, the awards demonstrate how today's urbanism strengthens communities by creating the physical setting for rich public life and by working to connect people of diverse backgrounds with housing options, equitable transportation, and access to opportunity. In recognizing design and development that strives for sustainability without trivializing the complexity of urbanism, the awards demonstrate how urbanism is a remedy our planet needs—a vital way to green the American Dream.

CNU invites your submissions for its premier annual awards—whether the work is architecture, landscape, and urban design, or the publications, policies, plans, and codes that shape urbanism. Awards are selected by a jury of distinguished urbanists, led this year by Victor Dover, and judged on the extent to which they fulfill and advance the principles of the Charter of the New Urbanism. This year, submitters also have the opportunity to describe how projects advance the operating principles in the Canons of Sustainable Architecture and Urbanism, found at www.cnu.org/canons.

Please help spread the word, especially to those whose urbanism and Smart Growth you admire.

Find information and entry forms at www.cnu.org/awards.

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2. Public Comment Now Open for LEED-ND

CNU Calls on Urbanists to Comment on the Latest Draft of the Rating System

It is clearer than ever that green building and community form shouldn't go it alone. A powerful strategy for achieving environmental sustainability is incorporating high-performance buildings in compact, mixed-use neighborhoods that reduce driving by making walking and transit attractive options. In response, CNU has partnered with U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to create LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND). This new rating system will certify the cutting-edge projects that integrate the principles of smart growth, new urbanism, and green building into the design and development of communities.

As the rating system approaches completion, the partners are opening it up for public comment beginning Nov. 17, 2008. The public comment period will close Jan. 5, 2009. The final rating system will be balloted by the members of each partner organization in spring 2009 and is predicted to launch mid-2009.

“We now ask urbanists to review this work to help ensure that the rating system follows the principles outlined in the Charter of the New Urbanism and reflects the best practices within the movement,” stated Susan Mudd, CNU Board member and LEED-ND Core Committee Vice Chair. Earlier this year, the Core Committee and technical advisory groups revised the rating system to reflect what they learned from real world pilot projects. A total of 238 developments signed up to participate in the pilot program.

Read full story...

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3. Call for Papers for CNU 17

The Congress for the New Urbanism invites academic paper submissions for presentation at the annual Congress taking place June 10-13, 2009 in Denver. The deadline for submissions has now been extended to January 2, 2009. Submissions are welcome on a range of issues and disciplines related to New Urbanism. Selection is based on the paper's contribution to critical discussion and practice of New Urbanism and for synergies with sessions at the Congress. Papers that incorporate the theme of the Congress, "Experiencing the New Urbanism: The Convenient Remedy," are especially welcomed. All papers are read and commented on by at least two reviewers prior to presentation.

More details: CNU Call for Academic Papers

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4. Before Dash to Invest Billions in Transport Systems, Experts Meet to Redesign Them So They Work Better

CNU Summit shifts focus from simply moving cars to getting people efficiently where they need to go

CHARLOTTE, N.C., 11/6/2008 -- As Democratic President-Elect Barack Obama and conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks add their support to calls from across the political spectrum for a fast-acting economic stimulus built around reinvestment in roads, bridges and other parts of our country’s underperforming infrastructure, the timeline is tight for making sure that investment meets the changing needs of American households and employers.

Fortunately, a group of 150 leading transportation design innovators are meeting this week in Charlotte, NC to develop standards and models for reworking our inefficient 20th-Century transportation systems for the current century, where the urgent challenge is building an efficient clean-energy economy and renewing the American Dream.

The event that brings these reformers together, the Congress for the New Urbanism’s annual Transportation Summit, which will run from today through Saturday in downtown Charlotte. The summit is becoming one of nation’s leading forums for rethinking prevailing transportation models and their single-minded focus on moving cars and trucks. Instead the focus shifts to moving people comfortably where they want to go, whether the best choice is walking, biking, riding transit or driving. Find details at the event’s website—cnu.org/transportation2008—and follow the action in the summit section of CNU’s group blog.

“When you begin designing transportation networks around people instead of cars, a whole set of good things happen,” says John Norquist, President and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), a leading non-profit group promoting walkable neighborhood-based development as an alternative to sprawl. “Throughout history, streets were expected to be vibrant public spaces and the setting for diverse and valuable economic activity, as well as movers of people and goods. We’re learning how to do that again, but when you design simply around vehicular movement as typically happens, you limit the results to a familiar landscape that includes big-box and strip retail. And perversely enough, you get a lot of traffic congestion and outrageous carbon emissions. It shouldn’t be a surprise — when people need a car or truck to get anywhere, that creates a lot of long car trips.”

Read full story...

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5. What's New @ CNU.org

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

CNU Salons: Not Just Fix It First
@ http://www.cnu.org/node/2532
New highway construction has been destructive to US Metro areas inducing sprawl and degrading existing neighborhoods. So it's tempting to rally to the cause of "just fix it first" hoping that repair work will soak up the money that might otherwise end up in destructive freeway building. But I propose we take a more direct approach and "redesign first"...

CNU Salons: Transportation Summit Presentations Available Online Now
@ http://www.cnu.org/node/2539
Want to revisit your favorite presentation, or couldn't attend the event? Slideshows and audio for select presentations are now archived online. Visit the link above and click on Presenation Archive.

CNU Salons: Summit study shows safer cities have more tightly networked streets
@ http://www.cnu.org/node/2505
While much of the discussion of sustainability focuses on global issues like climate and resources, Norman Garrick and Wesley Marshall have focused recent research, presented at the 2008 Transportation Summit, on the human problem of fatalities and serious injuries induced by our transportation system.

RFPs: Bloomingdale Trail Design Services
@ http://www.cnu.org/resources/jobs-rfps
The City of Chicago has announced a Request For Proposals (RFP) for the preliminary assessment and design of the Bloomingdale Trail. The proposals are due on December 2, 2008. CNU's Jobs and RFPs page is updated regularly with new opportunities. Log in to post your own items.

Events Calendar
@ http://www.cnu.org/event/date
CNU's public calendar is full of exciting learning and networking opportunities. Are you hosting an event? Log in to share it on our website.

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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6. Call for Smart Growth Streets Case Studies

The U.S. EPA Office of Development, Community and Environment (widely known as the “Smart Growth” office) is sponsoring a study on “Implementing Smart Growth Streets” that is being conducted by ICF International and Ellen Greenberg. CNU members are encouraged to participate in this work by bringing candidate case studies to the attention of the project team.

The project, which is in its initial phases, is using the following summary definition of smart growth streets:

Smart Growth Streets are roadways designed and operated to support compact communities while promoting least-polluting transportation performance and preserving environmental resources within and beyond the right of way.

We are seeking exemplary cases that demonstrate innovation, quality and replicable results with respect to one or more of the principles. Because the practice of creating smart growth streets is an evolving one, we do not expect that each case study will illustrate all of the principles discussed below. This study is focusing on documenting such examples, as well as on the implementation activities and institutional arrangements that are leading to positive outcomes.

If you would like further information about the project, or to suggest projects or programs that might be valuable case studies, please contact Ellen Greenberg at Ellen@EllenGreenberg.com or 510-450-0949. Thank you.

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7. Registration Open for 8th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference, Jan. 22-24, Albuquerque, N.M

Registration is now available for the 8th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth: Building Safe, Healthy and Livable Communities Conference, Jan. 22-24, 2009, in Albuquerque, N.M.

The New Partners for Smart Growth Conference has grown significantly since it began several years ago -- increasing in scope, attendance, and prestige -- and is now considered to be the "premier" smart growth conference held each year. The strength of this conference comes from the variety of participants and speakers who cross disciplines to share experiences and insights, and valuable tools and strategies to encourage smart growth implementation and "get it done."

The program will span three full days. There will be some pre-conference tours scheduled for Wednesday, January 21, but the main program will kick-off on Thursday morning, January 22 and continue through Saturday afternoon. The three-day schedule includes a dynamic mix of plenaries, breakouts, implementation workshops, specialized trainings, peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and coordinated networking activities. It will also feature exciting tours of local projects in the Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos areas, and many other interesting case studies from throughout the region. There will be something for everybody, from veteran experts to smart-growth novices, with over 100 sessions and workshops. Learn from hundreds of speakers who cross disciplines to share insights, valuable tools and strategies for making smart growth a success in your community.

Visit www.NewPartners.org to get more conference details and to register for the conference!

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8. Seaside Institute: Upcoming Events

Current CNU members receive a 10% discount on workshop registrations with their membership card. Visit the Seaside Institute website for more information.

2009 Seaside Prize Ceremony Weekend, Jan. 30 - 31, 2009, Seaside, Fla.
Town Architect's Forum, Jan. 28 - 30, 2009, Seaside, Fla.

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9. Form-Based Codes Institute: 2009 Driehaus Form-Based Codes Awards and Upcoming Trainings

Want to preserve or increase the quality of our communities? Because Form-Based Codes can require rather than recommend the vision elements that make for good urbanism, FBCs are being adopted at an ever increasing rate throughout the U.S. The mission of the Form-Based Codes Institute (FBCI) is "to advance the knowledge and use of, and develop standards for, Form-Based Codes as a method to achieve a community vision based on time-tested forms of urbanism." Perhaps the most important way FBCI advances knowledge and standards for FBCs is through its 3-course series, taught by nationally recognized practitioners.

2009 Driehaus Form-Based Codes Awards -- FBCI will be giving the 2009 Driehaus Form-Based Codes Awards during CNU 17 in Denver. Submission forms for the awards will be available on the FBCI website after the Thanksgiving holiday. Deadline for submittals is Friday, March 6, 2009.

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 201: Preparing the Code-Design Considerations, Phoenix, Az., Jan. 8-9, 2009. Faculty include Victor Dover, Steve Price, Karen Parolek and David Sargent
FBC 101: Introduction to Form-Based Coding, St. Petersburg, Fla., Feb. 3-4, 2009. Faculty include Victor Dover, Bill Spikowski +1 more
FBC 301: Completing, Adopting and Implementing the Code, Ventura, Calif., March 16-18, 2009. Faculty include Bob Sitkowski, Bill Spikowski, Dan Parolek, +2 more

Registration for these courses is available at www.formbasedcodes.org. Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust Scholarships of $500 each are available for representatives from not-for-profit historic preservation organizations or public organizations with oversight authority for historic preservation as well as students and faculty from schools of architecture.

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10. National Charrette Institute: 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.

NCI Charrette System™ Certificate
January 14-16, Miami, FL
March 9-11, Portland, OR
May 6-8, Washington DC

NCI Charrette Management and Facilitation™ Certificate
March 12-13, Portland, OR

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