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CONGRESS FOR THE NEW URBANISM XVI

New Urbanism and the Boomtown
3 - 6 April 2008 - Austin, Texas USA

This year's Congress for the New Urbanism will address today's top community-building challenges - from overcoming anti-urban codes to curbing greenhouse gas emissions - all of which demand truly cooperative action. And CNU's annual Congress brings the essential pieces of place making and sustainability together like no other conference. Whether your interest is architecture, planning, transportation design, or development, you won't want to miss it.
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CONGRESS FOR THE NEW URBANISM XV

New Urbanism & the Old City
17 - 20 May 2007, Philadelphia, Pennsylania USA

Join the world's experts in urban design and development in Philadelphia for the premier annual event dedicated to enhancing the character and function of communities through walkable, sustainable urban development. The Congress is an unparalleled venue for networking, collaboration, and education among design and development professionals, public officials, and others interested in building and renewing places of enduring value and diversity. Attendees come from far and wide to discuss development practices and public policies, learn from recent innovative work, gain practical knowledge to apply to their own careers, and advance new initatives to transform our communities.

In Philadelphia, discussions will advance from the timeless principles and techniques that shape walkable, human-scaled development in old and new cities to the latest strategies for addressing challenges ranging from modern retail formats to affordable housing and foreign oil dependency. Top speakers include Witold Rybczynski, Denise Scott Brown, Peter Calthorpe, Robert A.M. Stern, Rep. Barney Frank, Jacky Grimshaw, Andres Duany, Inga Saffron, and  others. Join them in Philadelphia for an event that will leave a lasting mark on growth and development in the mid-Atlantic and beyond.
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TWO NEW COURSES IN URBANISM
STARTING SEPTEMBER 2006
 

British Masters Course in Urban Design

As far as we see it is the first course which will fully respect CEU principles in the UK.

For details please see attachment or visit this website:
www.strath.ac.uk/architecture/pg-info/urban_des.html or download the PDF.

Scandinavian Master of  Program in Urban Planning & Design

We are happy to inform you about the first Scandinavian Full Master of Science Program in Urban Planning & Design (80 credits) which starts in September 2006 at the School of Architecture and Built Environment at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.

This is the 2nd call for all interested students with architecture, landscape architecture or urban planning background. The application deadline has been extended for international students until the 15th of April. This is also the deadline for European Union students.

For details please visit our new website:
www.infra.kth.se/sp/upd/

Wal-mart goes urban?

"Wal-Mart, the big-box giant sometimes accused of contributing to sprawl, traffic jams and the demise of downtown merchants, is considering an urban look and downtown locations..."

"It humanizes big-box retail," says Ben Pentreath, a British architectural designer with the Prince of Wales Foundation for the Built Environment. Pentreath was part of a team developing a plan for rebuilding Pass Christian, Mississippi., where a Super Wal-Mart was destroyed. "If it's really successful, it cuts down on car traffic," he says.

USA Today article, 14 November 2005:
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Mississippi Renewal Forum in Biloxi

Six-day charrette, October 12-17.

More than 100 New Urbanists and local practitioners  have produced plans for the rebuilding of Mississippi coast, hit  by the hurricane Katrina.   The Charrette in Biloxi was led by Andrés Duany, DPZ.

The final team reports include proposals for 11 towns. There are also reports from teams focusing on architecture, zoning codes, economic strategies, regional planning and the environment, retail, social issues, and transportation.

www.mississippirenewal.com

Speech of Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott

Committee of the regions, Brussels, 12 October. Check against delivery
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Sprawl costs billions.

An article in the Sacramento Business Journal says "we are all paying a staggering price for sprawling development in this country, and that price will only go up as gas prices increase," - "Sprawling communities need longer public roads, increase the cost of new water and sewer hookups by 20 percent to 40 percent, impose higher costs on police and fire departments and schools, and more. These costs are passed on to businesses and residents through higher taxes and fees and sometimes through fewer public services. And in most cases, sprawling developments do not generate enough property taxes to cover these added costs."
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Le Corbusier and the Estate from Hell

Sept.22 "Le Corbusier himself, so often blamed for all dismal concrete estates, designed his showcase Unite d'Habitation (1952) in Marseilles. This great 12-storey concrete ship of domesticity was meant for blue-collar families. Today it is home to white-collar professionals. It works because it is well planned and thoroughly serviced."
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Has Tesco got Britain's planning system in its pocket?

Sept.25 Britain's biggest supermarket, Tesco, is being accused of trampling over local councils when pushing through its retail developments.
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New village of Upton, Northampton, UK.

Sept.21 Prince Charles's latest experiment in community planning is inspired by a village in Florida. It hopes to transform UK housebuilding.
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Recycling architectural disasters

Eastern Germany's population is shrinking and leaving hundreds of thousands of empty buildings behind. With plans afoot to demolish 350,000 apartments worth INTBAUof hideous, communist-era buildings made from pre-fab concrete, a Berlin architectural firm is recycling the material into immensely livable single-family homes.
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Masterplan for Edinburgh New Town

Edinburgh's dirty old harbours are set to be transformed. Robert Adam - architect of the new Sackler Library at Oxford University as well as Edinburgh New Town - has been appointed masterplanner of Edinburgh Forthside.
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EU to create a "code for sustainable communities"

An interesting speech by UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, where he refers to New Urbanism. "Compared to American New Urbanism, the European approach - particularly in Britain - is more influenced by environmental considerations, social justice, economic progress, and a more interventionist style of Government". In December, Prescott will bring ministers form all EU nations together in Bristol  to create a "code for sustainable communities".
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Cities to lead quiet revolution

The Guardian April 20: "John Prescott wants to re-educate planners and councillors so that they no longer allow housing estates or shopping centres to be dumped on the edge of towns or in the middle of the countryside. He also wants councillors to veto developments that lack the right mixture of houses, jobs, transport and other services".
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Europe's shrinking cities

The latest issue of the German Journal of Urban Studies focuses on demographic changes in Europe and their impact on cities.
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Large scale urban development projects in Berlin

One of most debated projects is the demolition of the DDR "Palace of the Republic, and the reconstruction of the Royal Palace on the site. According to Rem Koolhaas, the demolition "feels kind of insanely ahistorical.".
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Nowhere land: US sprawl, could it happen in Europe?

As US towns sprawl into the countryside, creating anonymous zones dominated by soulless malls, one of Britain's leading historians asks if it could happen here. "Traditionally, British policymakers are all too easily drawn to American innovations. But, my time in Phoenix has shown the United States pursuing a model we desperately need to avoid: depopulating downtowns, ravaged countryside, unsustainable energy consumption, social and racial segmentation and a sprawling exurbia that is retreating unrelentingly into the future. "
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UNESCO acts against highrise buildings

One of Germany's most iconic buildings, the historic Cologne Cathedral, has been put on the UN's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO) List of World Heritage in Danger, due to the increasing development of the German city's skyline. "The organization admitted concerns during its annual meeting that the construction of several highrise buildings on the bank of the Rhine River opposite the Cathedral would damage the visual impact of one of Europe's masterpieces of Gothic architecture".
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Red light for out-of-town stores

"The government's current planning policy, on which the decision was based, is aimed at avoiding an expansion of out-of-town shopping to reduce pollution caused by car journeys, and to protect existing town centres".
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Urban design: the issue explained

"But ministers insist that quality can be achieved cheaply. In an effort to secure better standards of housing design they have backed controversial design codes used on Poundbury, Prince Charles's mock village in Dorset, and Seaside in Florida, the setting for the satirical film The Truman Show.

Such codes are endorsed by the influential "new urbanism" movement, an anti-sprawl group that started in America to champion pedestrian friendly town centre living. But many in the design community claim that such codes stifle innovation and dictate style."
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