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The 20th annual Congress for the New Urbanism was held this week in West Palm Beach, Fla.  Such anniversaries are an occasion for reflection on past accomplishments, and also for looking ahead.  One of the most exciting topics on the docket was “tactical urbanism,” the movement of incremental, small-scale – usually temporary, sometimes unsanctioned – improvements to the built landscape.  One session featured Ralph Rosado, of C3TS, who presented on a project that turned a parking lot along Miami’s Biscayne Boulevard into a park for a week.  Russ Preston, Design Director of the Principle Group, described how informal outdoor movie projections activated a neighborhood (and eventually became sanctioned by Paramount Pictures).  Ellen Dunham-Jones, of Georgia Tech, described how her students installed temporary bike signage, historical markers, and storytelling benches to downtown Lithonia, Ga., to help catalyze long-term change there.   The session was emceed by Mike Lydon, principle of Street Plans Collaborative, and lead editor of the Tactical Urbanism manual, volume 2 of which was just released.  Following the session, Lydon stepped aside with EngagiesCities to discuss the past and future of tactical urbanism.

As New Yorkers, we seldom consider our physical vulnerability on the group of islands that we inhabit, a vulnerability that is increasing as a result of climate change. Nevertheless, weather everywhere, even in Manhattan, has grown more extreme and erratic over the past decade, something many attribute to global warming.  In light of the recent evacuation of Lower Manhattan this past summer with the Hurricane that never happened, the work has particular resonance, serving as a wake-up call for urbanites who don’t think that climate change can affect them.

The CNU 20 conference is begins next week (May 9-12), and as a media partner with Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), EngagingCities is excited to be able to bring you live streaming of some highly anticipated sessions from CNU20, directly from our site.  So, even if you couldn't make the conference this year, you can still participate by listening in to the Friday night Plenary with Richard Florida here.

Check out live streaming of CNU 20's - Looking Forward: New Urbanism and the New World. As the Congress for New Urbanism enters its third decade, economic, political, and environmental conditions pose serious challenges for the built and natural environment, as well as New Urbanist practice. Three of CNU's Founders will open this session with lectures addressing these challenges. Andres Duany will present the 21st century crises that call for New Urbanists to adapt, including slow development, the public process, suburban retrofit, agricultural urbanism, and the theology of metrics. Dan Solomon will discuss the tensions between new urbanism's roots in the nuanced complexity of the city and the reductive codifying of New Urbanist practice.