Congress for New Urbanism comes to Chicago
Blocks, Streets and Buildings Today: The New City Beautiful
As sprawl eats up natural environments, turns parents into
chauffeurs, and separates jobs from the people who need
them most, the Congress for the New Urbanism CNU offers a
strong and valuable alternative. CNU is the leading organization working to build and rebuild mixed-use, walkable communities. Their annual Congress is an unparalleled setting for discussing the methods for creating vibrant towns and
cities. This year’s CNU XII will be held in Chicago, from June 24-27, 2004 at the Palmer House Hilton. For more information or to register visit www.cnu.org or call 1-800-788-7077.
In 2004, the Congress for the New Urbanism will meet in Chicago, a city of groundbreaking achievements in architecture and urban design. It is a perfect setting in which to explore New Urbanism in practice. CNU’s twelfth Congress will feature a critique of the late 19th century City Beautiful movement, which came to prominence at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 and sought to return art to the practice of city building everywhere.
This Congress will focus on the smallest scale addressed by the Charter of the New Urbanism. With “Streets, Blocks and Buildings Today: The New City Beautiful,” CNU will define principles and methods for restoring, infilling, and creating places in ways that satisfy not just aesthetic ideals but environmental and social goals as well. CNU XII offers an unparalleled opportunity to learn techniques for realizing these principles, to appreciate their histories, and to contribute to their evolution.
Plenary sessions structure the Congress, providing the context for numerous breakout and intensive sessions that offer detailed discussions on the design, development, financing, marketing, and politics of New Urbanism. A sequence of three sessions on Friday and Saturday highlights the Traditional City, the Modernist City, and the Sustainable City, all interpreted broadly to encompass the design of towns and villages as well as central cities.
