Congress for the New Urbanism

Founded in 1993, the Congress for the New Urbanism is a nonprofit membership organization comprised of more than 3,000 architects, urban planners, developers, engineers, and public officials. Our objective is to grow a movement in America aimed at re-establishing compact, walkable neighborhoods in well-planned cities and towns; revitalizing urban centers, reconfiguring sprawling suburbs; conserving regional environmental assets; and preserving our built legacy.

CNU has helped shape a national conversation about the consequences of formless growth and has advanced an alternate vision for community development and regional sustainability based on the Charter of the New Urbanism. At CNU, we advocate the restructuring of public policy and development practices to support the following Charter principles: neighborhoods should be diverse in use and population; communities should be designed for the pedestrian and transit as well as the car; cities and towns should be shaped by physically defined and universally accessible public spaces and community institutions; urban places should be framed by architecture and landscape design that celebrate local history, climate, ecology, and building practice.