CONGRESS FOR THE NEW URBANISM

Results: Since 1993, CNU has emerged as the leading voice for the creation of sustainable, walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods. Select accomplishments include: • Provided design guidelines and training for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in implementing Hope VI, • Collaborated with the US Environmental Protection Agency on Smart Growth and the revision of Stormwater regulations, • Produced Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares, a recommended practice for local communities to apply context-sensitive solutions to street design, with the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the Federal Highway Administration, • Created LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) in collaboration with the US Green Building Council and Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation's first rating system for green neighborhoods, • CNU’s Charter served as the source for the HUD, EPA and the US Department of Transportation’s Sustainable Communities partnership Recent accomplishments include: • Held our 2st annual Congress in Salt Lake City, Utah, which drew attendees from throughout the United States and countries from every corner of the world. • The City of El Paso passed a resolution in May 2011 to adopt the CNU/ITE Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares manual as a recommended practice, following the State of Texas’ earlier adoption of the guidelines. • CNU’s Highways-to-Boulevards initiative has gone national, expanding local campaigns in New Orleans to tear down the Claiborne Expressway and in the Bronx to retrofit the Sheridan Expressway. • CNU continues to lead a coalition of organizations in calling to raise and/or eliminate the restrictions on the mixing of commercial and residential space with our Live/Work/Walk initiative. FHA recently revised rules that limited the cap of commercial space in mixed-use condo buildings from 25% to an updated 35% commercial use, with possible waivers for developments with up to 50% commercial space.

Target demographics: planners and cities across the country

Geographic areas served: CNU is based in Chicago, but its members include planners, developers, architects, engineers, public officials, investors and community activists from across the country.

Programs: Highways to Boulevards, Sprawl Retrofit, Live/Work/Walk, Rainwater-in-Context, LEED ND, Health Districts, and Project for Transportation Reform.