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CNU 23DALLAS/FORT WORTH 4/29-5/2/2015»»» 
CNU Salons
walkable regions and real estate values
Submitted by MLewyn on Wed, 01/09/2013 - 12:43pmPundit Matt Yglesias has dug up some interesting Federal Reserve-compiled data on regional housing prices. He compares today's housing prices not to those of the mid-2000s real estate boom, but to 1998 pre-boom housing prices. The Fed's data shows that some regions have experienced long-term price increases despite the recession, while in others housing prices have not recovered to pre-boom levels.
"Quality of Life"- A Term With Lots of Meanings
Submitted by MLewyn on Tue, 01/08/2013 - 12:12pmI am in the middle of Jeff Speck's Walkable City, and noticed his statement that walkable cities "provide a better quality of life." (p. 70). But when I lived in car-oriented cities like Jacksonville and Atlanta, I talked to more than one ex-northerner who said they preferred the "quality of life" of the suburbs where they lived. Clearly, not everyone understands this term the same way.
Watershed Restoration Webinar with Paul Crabtree
Submitted by Ryan Forst on Tue, 01/08/2013 - 11:19amSince 2010, CNU’s Rainwater-in-context initiative has worked with all levels of government and other key rainwater players to encourage the formation of best management practices, LEED-ND rainwater codes, and EPA regulations that take into account watershed level planning. Engineer, planner, CNU member and rainwater expert Paul Crabtree has developed a webinar that helps planners and others better understand watershed restoration. The webinar will help you:
- Learn why watershed analysis should be done prior to establishing or revising rainwater regulations.
New and Worth Reading: a Friendly Critique of Form-Based Codes
Submitted by MLewyn on Mon, 01/07/2013 - 4:19pmNicole Garnett of Notre Dame Law School is publishing a sympathetic critique of form-based codes (available here, soon to be published in Brooklyn Law Review). She supports the aims of form-based codes, but wonders whether they would be more appropriate as voluntary codes than as citywide zoning overlays. She has three concerns.
Charlotte's Eastland Mall Property Back in the Game!
Submitted by aferretti on Fri, 01/04/2013 - 4:00pmThroughout the country, abandoned retail properties become eyesores for both residential and commercial neighbors. Charlotte's strong economy does not shield it from the problems of sprawl and leapfrog development. The once thriving Eastland Mall in close proximity to uptown Charlotte closed in 2010 in the face of competition from new shopping centers more accessible to the regional population.
Eye on the Street: Thursday, January 3rd, 2013
Submitted by Ben Schulman on Thu, 01/03/2013 - 11:24amLA-based CNU'er Art Cueto captures "multimodalism reaching new heights in Los Angeles."
Playa Coronado, Panama: The Perfect Place For A New Urbanist Community?
Submitted by Dylan on Tue, 01/01/2013 - 1:41pmThere are several characteristics of the town of Playa Coronado, Panama that I noticed while I was there, that may make it the perfect place for a walkable mixed-use New Urbanist community.
The first and most obvious reason, in my opinion, is the gorgeous white and black sand beach. Notice how that the coast is in the shape of a triangular point. I thought that this was reminiscent of the Master Plan of Seaside, Florida and other New Urbanist communities with an iconic structure/terminating vista and agora/amphitheatre/social space.
Two Middle-Class(?) Neighborhoods
Submitted by MLewyn on Mon, 12/31/2012 - 12:52pmA few days ago, I partially responded to Joel Kotkin's defense of Sun Belt sprawl and attack on more "urban" cities like New York and Washington, arguing that the latter group of cities seem to be more attractive to the wealthy and more able to generate wealth. But of course, I didn't really address the broader argument that New York is a two-class city. Although Kotkin ferociously attacks environmentalists, his argument seems pretty similar to the left-wing argument that America is losing its
Miami21 In Action In Miami, FL
Submitted by Dylan on Sat, 12/29/2012 - 4:55pmI recently visited the Brickell and Wynwood Districts on and near the Biscayne Bay in Miami, FL, which is included in the New Urbanist/CNU Master Plan with a Form-Based Code known as Miami21. Miami21 is the first Master Plan to use a Form-Based Code in a major US city.
What are Form-Based Codes?
http://www.formbasedcodes.org/what-are-form-based-codes
More on Form-Based codes and CNU- Form-Based Codes a Significant Work in Progress
http://www.cnu.org/presentations/2007/form-based-codes-significant-work-...
Responding to a little New York-bashing
Submitted by MLewyn on Thu, 12/27/2012 - 12:17pmJoel Kotkin just wrote a blog post on New Geography explaining why today's Obama voters will eventually turn into Republicans - a subject not particularly relevant to urbanism. But a few paragraphs of the essay grabbed my attention, in particular this one: