Congress for the New Urbanism

Congress for the New Urbanism
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Name	Congress for the New Urbanism
Founded	0 1993
Founders	Andrés Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Peter Calthorpe, Daniel Solomon, Stefanos Polyzoides, Elizabeth Moule
Location	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Key people	Rick Cole (CEO)
Focus	Urban planning, Urban design, Architecture
Website	cnu.org

Congress for the New Urbanism. Founded in 1993, it is a leading organization advocating for the restoration of walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods as an alternative to suburban sprawl. Its founders include prominent architects and planners like Andrés Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Peter Calthorpe. The organization promotes principles derived from traditional town planning to address contemporary issues of environmental sustainability, social equity, and economic vitality.

History and founding

The Congress for the New Urbanism emerged from a gathering of architects and planners in Alexandria, Virginia in 1993, formalizing a movement that had been developing for over a decade. Key early intellectual foundations were laid by the publication of The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs and the work of Leon Krier. The inaugural meeting, held at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., brought together the six primary founders who were already influential through projects like Seaside, Florida and the Ahwahnee Principles. This event directly challenged the prevailing modernist planning paradigms epitomized by the Charter of Athens and advocated by institutions like the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne.

Principles and charter

The organization's core philosophy is codified in the Charter of the New Urbanism, ratified in 1996 at its fourth annual congress in Charleston, South Carolina. The charter outlines principles for development at the scale of the region, the neighborhood, and the block. It advocates for mixed-use development, a range of housing types, pedestrian-friendly streets, and transit-oriented development. These ideas are presented as a direct rebuttal to the single-use zoning and automobile-centric planning that shaped much of postwar development in the United States. The principles draw heavily from the patterns of historic cities like Charleston and Savannah, Georgia.

Influence and projects

The Congress for the New Urbanism has significantly influenced planning policy and built projects across North America. Its members were instrumental in developing iconic Traditional Neighborhood Development projects such as Celebration, Florida and Kentlands, Maryland. The organization actively engages with federal agencies like the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and the United States Environmental Protection Agency to promote form-based codes over conventional zoning. Internationally, its principles have informed reconstruction efforts in places like New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and have influenced planning debates in the United Kingdom and Canada. The annual CNU Congress serves as a major forum for practitioners.

Organization and leadership

Headquartered in Chicago, the Congress for New Urbanism is structured around a board of directors and a professional staff led by a chief executive officer. It operates through numerous local and regional chapters across the United States, including active groups in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Pacific Northwest, and New England. The organization presents annual awards, such as the Athena Medal, to recognize influential figures like former Mayor of Milwaukee John Norquist. It also maintains formal initiatives like the Project for Transportation Reform and partners with allied organizations such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Smart Growth America.

Criticism and response

The Congress for the New Urbanism has faced criticism from various quarters. Some modernist architects and planners have accused it of promoting nostalgia and a reactionary aesthetic, while critics on the political left, such as Marshall Berman, have questioned its engagement with issues of affordable housing and economic inequality. Debates have also occurred within the movement itself, notably between proponents of neotraditional architecture and those advocating a more modernist design language. In response, the organization has increasingly emphasized topics like incremental development, missing middle housing, and climate change adaptation, broadening its initial focus.

Category:Urban planning organizations Category:Architecture organizations based in the United States Category:Organizations based in Chicago Category:1993 establishments in the United States