CNU--Another non-profit seeking to change you

The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization is the leading organization promoting walkable, neighborhood-based development as an alternative to sprawl. Not the nanny state exactly, but certainly one of the nagger earth groups. Many of these same building and design career groups gave us urban sprawl and mile after mile of cul-du-sacs and congested feeder roads 30-50 years ago. Now they’re unhappy with it, want you to move back down town, and walk every where. Good luck!

"CNU takes a proactive, multi-disciplinary approach to restoring our communities. Members are the life of the organization – they are the planners, developers, architects, engineers, public officials, investors, and community activists who create and influence our built environment, transforming growth patterns from the inside out, and making it easier for people to live healthy lives. Whether it's bringing restorative plans to hurricane-battered communities in the Gulf Coast, turning dying malls into vibrant mixed-use neighborhoods, or reconnecting isolated public housing projects to the surrounding fabric, new urbanists are providing leadership in community building.

Our relationship with our members allows us to do more than just talk about the problems of the built environment. Together, we are creating tools that make it easier to put New Urbanism into practice around the world.

CNU advocates the restructuring of public policy and development practices to support the restoration of existing urban centers and towns within coherent metropolitan regions. We stand for the reconfiguration of sprawling suburbs into communities of real neighborhoods and diverse districts, the conservation of natural environments, and the preservation of our built legacy.

Rebuilding neighborhoods, cities, and regions is profoundly interdisciplinary. We believe that community, economics, environment, health and design need to be addressed simultaneously through urban design and planning."

Oh, and it is also an international movement and very, very green--asking for lots and lots of money from the government (that's your tax money) to tear down, and start over.

Key words to look for in this movement are: sustainable, targeted, mixed use, proximity, access, mixed income, self-sufficiency, community, transect-zones, pedestrian friendly, green-space, job-creation, transportation reform, housing mix, smart growth, street design alternatives, low-carbon--think a 1930s movie about a fantasy 19th century city--no cars, happy people chatting on street corners, and ordering from the butcher personally. Or the setting for the Huxtable townhouse on the Bill Cosby TV show in the mid-1980s.

Just remember, these are the people who just 25-30 years ago brought us urban centers that looked like cereal boxes in a row, empty pedestrian malls in cities to bring shoppers down town, shops and boutiques in renovated factories, and here in Columbus, we got the fabulous City Center, just about 20 years ago which is now slated for demolition. Here in suburban Upper Arlington we've got one of these "mixed-use" complexes about 2 miles down the road that looks totally inappropriate, with about 10% occupancy because of the recession, across from a mall that they are bulldozing and rebuilding.