CNU DC Chapter Participation

The Congress for the New Urbanism DC Chapter was officially recognized at the 12th CNU Congress in June 2004, and achieved full chapter status in early 2007. CNU DC Chapter membership is an automatic benefit of CNU membership (membership in the national organization). Local members do not need to add on chapter membership fees separately, though additional donations to the chapter are greatly appreciated.

Contact Chapter President for information about donations, volunteering, and participation. Chapter members and the public may sign up to receive CNU DC announcements by using the form on the announcements page. If you would like to add events to the events calendar, please contact the .

About the CNU DC Chapter

Purpose

The Congress for the New Urbanism DC Chapter is an educational organization whose goal is to reform the practice of real estate development and urban planning by:

• Promoting the Congress for the New Urbanism and the Charter of the New Urbanism;
• Educating the public and other professional sectors on the benefits of new urbanism and smart growth;
• Providing opportunities for skills development of local area professionals; and
• Facilitating communication and coordination among D.C. area new urbanists.


Organization

The CNU DC Chapter is directed by Sarah Lewis as president and the Board of Directors provides direction and experience in varied fields. The CNU DC Chapter is a designated nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, and currently is an entirely volunteer effort. Please contact for information about support and participation in Chapter activities. Please check our calendar for local events.


Activities

• Peer review of the work and ideas of local area professionals
• Exhibitions of work by local designers
• Lectures by local, national and international practitioners
• Tours of historic and new urbanism
• Support for students in area colleges and universities
• Networking and advocacy
• Co-organizing events with groups having aligned interests

CNU DC Chapter advocates pedestrian-friendly districts/neighborhoods that support a diverse range of household types and land uses. We are experienced in the full spectrum of activities that are necessary to improve the quality of the built environment, including design, policy making, visioning, development, marketing and civic activism.

Our contributors, volunteers and participants come from a variety of backgrounds. We are practitioners in the fields of design, real estate and planning; researchers, educators and authors; administrators and activists; and students and individuals who wish to learn about and support the techniques and practice of urban design.


History

For centuries, the Washington D.C., region has been at the forefront of innovation in American urban design. Annapolis, designed in 1696 by Francis Nicholson, was one of the first planned cities in America and the only state capitol built on Baroque planning principles. Pierre L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the federal city is justly famous. The McMillan Plan, Greenbelt, Reston and Columbia were each in their own ways milestones of twentieth century land planning. Technology had a great impact on urban form, and our region saw some of the earliest applications of federal roads, long-distance telegraph lines, streetcars, modern asphalt paving, airports and regional park systems.

New urbanism began to make an appearance in our area in the mid-1970s and early 1980s. Area institutions launched urban design programs and courses, organized studios and exhibitions, and issued awards to leading designers. In the middle to late 1980s, new urbanist projects were planned and began construction. The best known of this first generation of projects -- Reston Town Center and Kentlands -- have had a major impact on the planning and design professions. Today, more than 50 new urban developments are under construction in the Washington region.

The national Congress for the New Urbanism was founded in 1993 and held its first congress that year in Alexandria. Taking a firm position on land use, the CNU Charter stated:

New urbanists stand for the restoration of existing urban centers and towns within coherent metropolitan regions, the reconfiguration of sprawling suburbs into communities of real neighborhoods and diverse districts, the conservation of natural environments, and the preservation of our built legacy.

The CNU's connection with Washington continued throughout the 1990s. CNU worked with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to rewrite guidelines for public housing design. Partnerships and working relationships were formed with national associations based in D.C. In 2003, D.C. hosted the CNU's eleventh congress, drawing 1200 participants to four days of lectures, discussions, exhibitions, awards and tours. When the CNU decided to establish local chapters around the country, the host committee for the eleventh congress became the organizing nucleus of the CNU DC Chapter.