On September 1st, 2010, CNU's Board of Directors approved four policy reform priorities proposed by the board's Government Affairs Committee chaired by Sam Sherman.  Although each issue was already the subject of ongoing CNU outreach, the board action helps CNU chief executive John Norquist and the board organize CNU's policy reform efforts around a clarified set of objectives.

Objective 1: Limits on non-residential development for capitalization of residential projects under three federally chartered entities or programs -Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD's 221 d 4 Multi-Family Housing program - should be raised from 20%( Fannie and HUD 221) and 25% (Freddie) to at least 50% of imputed rent.

Objective 2:Promote the integration of CNU/ITE Context-Sensitive Streets guide content into federal and state law and policy.

Objective 3: Encourage the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water in updating its stormwater program to promote regulations that are compatible with higher-density walkable development with significant environmental benefits.

Objective 4: CNU expresses its opposition to California Proposition 23 which would repeal California's comprehensive effort to address climate change.

Norquist praised the effort as a successful example of collaboration between staff and board. "It certainly is valuable to have these positions clarified and affirmed. Each is crucial in its own way to clearing our path of obstructions so new urbanists can truly transform communities for the better."

For more detailed versions of our objectives and for more information on our Government Affairs Platform, click here.

The Congress for the New Urbanism is beginning its annual call for academic papers. The CNU welcomes submissions on a wide range of topics within New Urbanism, but papers that incorporate this year's Congress theme, "Growing Local," will be especially considered. Creative, innovative, and thought-provoking papers are encouraged.

All submitted papers will be read and commented upon by at least two reviewers, and several papers will be selected for presentation at this June's Congress in Madison. The deadline for submission is December 3rd, 2010.

For more information - and to read the full-text of papers presented at past Congresses - go to cnu.org/callforpapers.

CNU is also looking for volunteers to review papers. Reviewers should be familiar with new urbanist principles, projects, and issues and be willing to thoughtfully review submitted papers. If you're interested in participating, please e-mail a short paragraph describing your areas of expertise to callforpapers@cnu.org.

At the end of last month Montgomery's planning director, Ken Groves, passed away. Ken Groves had been the city's planning director for nearly ten years. During that time he worked hard to revitalize Montgomory's downtown. Ken was a firm believer in New Urbanism. In 2006 he pushed the City Council to adopt a SmartCode, which allowed mixed-use development in Montgomory's downtown. He wanted Montomery to once again be a place people wanted to live, shop, and visit. Before he died, Ken said, "You know, Montgomery is really starting to become a place where people want to come downtown again ... This is really becoming a special place."

Ken should be remembered as a man who firmly believed in the power of a traditional neighborhood. He is a model for what a good planning director should be. Ken loved his city and he enjoyed being part of the New Urbanist community that is CNU. We will miss him very much.

A movement toward more bike friendly cities and towns is gaining momentum across the country, but it might not always be apparent to officials just how important biking is to residents.

Peopleforbikes.org is working to unite one million bike supporters with a common voice.  During CNU19, June 1-4, 2011, we will dedicate an entire track of the Congress to the issue of biking and transportation because we know how important biking is to the future development of healthy and livable places.

Share your support for biking at http://www.peopleforbikes.org.

Each year, the Seaside Institute awards the Seaside Prize to individuals or organizations "who have made significant contributions to the quality and character of our communities."

The prize's next recipient - to be honored at a ceremony held during a weekend of events at Seaside, January 28-30, 2011 - will be architect, author and CNU Board Member Dhiru Thadani. Read about Dhiru's Charter-Award winning architecture and urban design work at his website dthadani.com.  

Past Seaside Prize recipients include:

Giancarlo de Carlo
Donlyn Lyndon
Alexander Cooper
Jaquelin Robertson
Daryl Rose Davis
Robert S. Davis
Aldo Rossi
Robert A.M. Stern
Peter Calthorpe
Elizabeth Moule
Stefanos Polyzoides
Daniel Solomon
Joseph P. Riley Jr.
Jane Jacobs
Leon Krier
City of Portland, Oregon
Christopher Alexander
Andres Duany
Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk
Vincent Scully
Elinor Bacon
Ray Gindroz
Witold Rybczynski
Hank Dittmar
James Howard Kunstler
Allan Jacobs

APA Planners Workshop
Next month CNU's Ellen Dunham-Jones and June Williamson will be teaching an APA Planners Workshop on Retrofitting Suburbia. The workshop will be taking place in Chicago from November 12-13. Also, Scott Bernstein, another CNU board member and the president and co-founder of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, will be a guest speaker at the event. For more information go here.

Understanding the LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System
The LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) program, launched earlier this year, is a certification system for a wide range of development project types that incorporate smart growth, new urbanism and green design and construction.
 
As a new member of the LEED family, a full day workshop is available to educate you about the rating system. This workshop will be held before the Greenbuild Conference in Chicago, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm on Monday, November 15, 2010. For more information, go here.

Local Government Leveraging of LEED-ND: Securing a Sustainable Future Fast
As LEED-ND may be used by local governments to facilitate LEED-ND developments in their jurisdictions, a half-day workshop is being offered by Criterion Planners to explore this topic at the tail end of the Greenbuild conference on Friday, November 19, 2010 from 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm.
 
For more information, go here.

To see more upcoming events or to add your own to CNU's member calendar, head over to cnu.org/event/date.

• Jan Gehl on American Cities and Walkability. Fast Company recently posted a Q and A with Danish urban designer Jan Gehl.
• Farr from Sustainable: Green Buildings Are Not Enough. Doug Farr gave a free lecture on Sustainable Urbanism at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison, WI.
• The Future of Suburbia Lies in Retrofit. How hip places like SoHo are the future.
• We're losing an acre of farmland every minute, but smart growth may be slowing the rate. 41 million acres of rural land has been permanently lost in the last 25 years to highways, shopping malls, poorly planned sprawl and other development, according to a new analysis by the American Farmland Trust.
  

National Charrette Institute
The National Charrette Institute is a nonprofit educational institution that trains professionals and community in best practices for charrettes -- a design-based, accelerated, collaborative project management system that harnesses the talents and energies of all interested parties to create and support a feasible plan. Since NCI is a CNU continuing education partner, CNU members are eligible for a 10 percent discount

Upcoming NCI Charrette System Certificate Trainings are:

• Coming soon

NCI Webinar Series
NCI is offers the following webinars for 2010. We are partnering with a range of experts on each topic to bring you fresh perspectives on these current issues.

• Charrettes for Form Based Codes - November 10, 2010
• Charrettes and Sustainable Urbanism - February, 2011
• High-tech, High-touch Charrettes with a Focus on Social Media - April, 2011

Form-Based Codes Institute
The Form-Based Codes Institute was founded in 2004. The goals of the institute are to set standards for the practice of Form-Based Coding, to educate and reach out to various audiences, and to create a forum for discussion about FBC.

Upcoming Form-Based Codes Courses:
November 10 - The ABC's of Form-Based Codes - Covington, KY

For more information, read more.