New Urbanism Standards Manual

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Michael Leccesse and Kathleen McCormick (eds), McGraw-Hill 1999

The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) was formed in 1993 by leading urban design practitioners and educators who were united in their opposition to the placelessness of modern suburbs, the decline in the centres of towns and cities and the effective segregation of communities by race and income. Together they set an ambitious agenda - to challenge and change the late twentieth century conventions of zoned, disconnected, car dominated development and replace them with a model based on mixed- use towns accessible by pedestrians and mass transit as well as by car. In successive Congresses the vision for the New Urbanism was debated and developed by participants until in 1996 The Charter for the New Urbanism was formally adopted. This book focuses on The Charter and presents 27 essays by the movement's leading exponents, including Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Peter Calthorpe, Daniel Solomon, John Norquist, Douglas Kelbaugh and Walter Kulash.

Following an introduction by Jonathan Barnett entitled 'What's New About the New Urbanism?' the book is divided into three parts which reflect the three scales of principles in The Charter; 'The Region: metropolis, city, and town', 'Neighbourhood, District and Corridor', and 'Block, Street and Building'. The essays represent the wide constituency of the New Urbanists and include contributions from designers, developers, economists, politicians, transport planners, academics and environmentalists. The essays offer a mix of the visionary and the pragmatic and together form an impressive review of progressive practice. The CNU was formed by a group of people who were committed to change. This collection is evidence of their influence and the considerable progress they have made in a very short space of time. It is essential reading for practitioners, academics and students who want to understand how the principles of the New Urbanism are being put into practice, reviewed, and refined.