Public Square: A CNU Journal

01/14/2025

Fighting loneliness with parks and third places:
We have a unique opportunity to rethink what it means to create shared spaces. By reimagining downtowns, expanding parks, and supporting hybrid third places, we can design environments that heal, connect, and inspire.

We have a unique opportunity to rethink what it means to create shared spaces. By reimagining downtowns, expanding parks, and supporting hybrid third places, we can design environments that heal, connect, and inspire.

01/03/2025

Wealthy tech investors are behind California Forever, one of the most ambitious greenfield plans in a century—for a mixed-use city of 400,000 on 29 square miles in Solano County.

01/02/2025

The Vermont Homes for All Toolkit comprehensively promotes Missing Middle housing for more diverse and affordable living in the Green Mountain State.

01/01/2025

Norman, Oklahoma, has devised one of the most efficient ways to reduce parking requirements and stimulate incremental development.

12/31/2024

The reality of suburban distances to retail and community amenities has inspired a new term: the “20-minute suburb.” The concept is an evolution of the 15-minute city, focusing on transportation, zoning, and strategic densification.

12/30/2024

Pre-approved building plans can address the housing crisis by reducing regulatory friction around high-quality residential designs that fit a community’s vernacular.

12/27/2024

Wes Marshall’s book, Killed by a Traffic Engineer, reveals the profession’s shaky, unscientific foundations—and points the way to safer, healthier streets.

Wes Marshall’s new book, Killed by a Traffic Engineer, reveals the profession’s shaky, unscientific foundations—and points the way to safer, healthier streets.

12/26/2024

The Ember in Edmond, Oklahoma, is designed so that all neighbors will feel part of the whole via a central gathering space.

12/25/2024

Built around a 150-year-old railroad depot, Greer suffered from motor-vehicle-age changes; a streetscape project has made downtown a destination.

12/24/2024

The Lone Star State is at a unique historical point where rapidly increasing population may lead it down the same path as California. We have an opportunity to shape that growth.

12/23/2024

Here are 10 tactics to plan for better walkability with immediate implementation, improving safety and reviving a city center in the process.

12/18/2024

Some noteworthy projects show how skilled architects and urban designers are tackling mixed-use, civic, housing, and infrastructure challenges around the US.

Some noteworthy projects by the Urban Guild show how skilled architects and urban designers are tackling mixed-use, civic, housing, and infrastructure challenges around the US.

12/17/2024

Construction along the future Purple Line creates a dense, mixed-use urban center—providing residents with options besides driving in the congested Maryland suburbs.

12/16/2024

Old walls, new homes:
Adaptive reuse as a solution for housing

Adaptive reuse as a solution for housing

12/12/2024

An American urban planner who was influential in the design of mixed-income neighborhoods enumerates the qualities of public spaces that feel safe and secure.

12/11/2024

Voters choose transit in two sprawling cities:
Successful ballot initiatives in Nashville, Tennessee, and Columbus, Ohio, have the potential to greatly improve mobility and transit in two of America’s fastest growing, automobile-dominated cities.

Successful ballot initiatives in Nashville, Tennessee, and Columbus, Ohio, have the potential to greatly improve mobility and transit in two of America’s fastest growing, automobile-dominated cities.

12/10/2024

Bringing back building types: conservation biology, or jurassic park? How does our world now compare to the conditions under which prehistoric creatures or historic building cultures thrived?

How does our world now compare to the conditions under which prehistoric creatures or historic building cultures thrived?

12/09/2024

Main street brings New Urbanism to New York State:
Eastdale Village in Poughkeepsie crosses a US highway with a four-block main street, drawing visitors with a strong sense of place.

Eastdale Village in Poughkeepsie crosses a US highway with a four-block main street, drawing visitors with a strong sense of place.