CPLA Reference & Resource Center

 

New Online Resources in Urban Planning

Congress for the New Urbanism: The Congress for the New Urbanism is an organization dedicated to promoting community restoration and neighborhood development as an alternative to sprawl.  Members of the organization include: planners, developers, architects, engineers, public officials, investors, and community activists  Students are eligible for an annual electronic membership at no charge.    

Historic City Maps Collection  (from the University of Texas): The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection has a large collection of digitized urban maps dating from the 1630 to the present.  Many of the maps on this site are in the public domain.  The Frequently Asked Questions page provides an excellent overview of the collection as well as additional map resources on the web.   

National Charrette Institute: The National Charrette Institute is a non-profit educational institution and a leader in the field of "Dynamic Planning" as a means to create healthy community plans.  The Institute has several publications available for free download.  There is also information on obtaining the NCI Charrette Planning Certification.  Reduced student memberships are available.       

National Trust for Historic Preservation: Headquartered in Washington D.C., the National Trust for Historic Preservation is a nonprofit organization intent on saving historic places and revitalizing America's communities. The organization currently has 270,000 members, among thousands of preservation groups, in all 50 states.  A regional office is located in Chicago.  The National Trust sponsors an online volunteer clearinghouse for preservation opportunities at both state and local organizations as well as  historic sites.

New Urban News: Since 1996 New Urban News has provided substantive and concise information for professionals and lay people with a strong interest in the New Urbanism ("Smart Growth").  Past articles are available dating back to 2000.  Students are eligible to become members at reduced rates.  

Smart Growth Online: The Smart Growth Network was founded in 1996.  Smart growth invests time, attention, and resources in restoring community and vitality to city centers and older suburbs. New smart growth is more town-centered, transit and pedestrian oriented, and has a greater mix of housing, commercial and retail uses.  Membership is free to all individuals.   

Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse: Since 1998 the Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse has aimed to make the tools, techniques, and strategies developed to manage growth, accessible to citizens, grassroots organizations, environmentalists, public officials, planners, the media and business leaders.  The website contains links to several of the major smart growth initiatives throughout the country.