Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Congress for the New Urbanism

Senate Considering $10B for Highway Removal

By Kea Wilson | Jan 11, 2021 | No Comments

Cities might soon get the kind of federal money they need to tear down the downtown highways that federal dollars paid them to build — and to reinvest in communities of color that those highways destroyed.

Parking Reform Has Big Implications for Sustainable Transit — and for Ride-Hailing, Too

By Stephen Miller | Jun 15, 2017 | 11 Comments

Cities have traditionally eliminated parking requirements to encourage walking, bicycling, and transit. But it can also aid the rise of on-demand car services, two top parking policy experts say.

The Congress for New Urbanism has named its top ten candidates for urban highway removal. Map: CNU

10 Urban Freeways That Need to Come Down

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 30, 2017 | 90 Comments

There are excellent candidates for freeway removal in many American cities, where roads built 50 or 60 years ago are nearing the end of their useful lives. Cities that take the plunge and get rid of their urban highways don't regret it.

New Urban Love and Loathing in Buffalo: Jeff Speck Responds

By Jeff Speck | Jun 16, 2014 | 21 Comments

As a charter member of the Congress for New Urbanism, I’ve now attended twenty of the organization’s annual conferences. This month’s event may have been my favorite yet, mostly thanks to its location in downtown Buffalo, a place that reminds us so poignantly of both the successes and failures of city planning, as first lovingly […]

FHWA Endorses Engineering Guide for Walkable Urban Streets

By Angie Schmitt | Sep 13, 2013 | No Comments

Urban streets serve a much different purpose than rural ones: They’re for walking, socializing, and local commerce, not just moving vehicles. Unfortunately, American engineering guides tend not to capture these nuances. That can lead to a lot of problems for cities. Wide roads appropriate for rural areas are dangerous and bad for local businesses in […]

Petitioning U.S. DOT to Recognize That City Streets Should Prioritize Walking

By Angie Schmitt | Jun 10, 2013 | 15 Comments

The Federal Highway Administration classifies roads as either “rural” or “urbanized.” But the “urbanized” label is deceptive, because it applies suburban street design standards to any street that isn’t rural. So if you live in, say, downtown St. Louis, the FHWA applies the same standards to your streets as to the streets in Orlando’s most […]

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