New Urban Progress

Originally, I was going to provide large summary of my experience of CNU XIII in Pasadena in June. However, I have been lazy and have yet to place the myriad of thoughts that I have had on the matter into a coherent form. Moreover, so many pressing planning related issues have come up recently (Kelo, Frank Gehry's Brooklyn Redevelopment, etc.) that I am no longer thinking too wholeheartedly about the conference. However, I will say this: Though I did not learn as much as I had originally hoped, it was a great experience and a great time. I certainly appreciated meeting others around the country who are as involved with new urbanism as I am. Unsurprisingly, new urbanists are a social bunch and the entire conference provided ample opportunity to eat, drink, and be merry. Moreover, Pasadena was an interesting town for sure. I'd even call it a nice place to visit, with some great architecture and planning. However, in general Southern California makes me want to walk into oncoming freeway traffic. Unfortunately, it might not have the desired affect because the traffic moves so damn slowly. What a mess! I was more than happy to make my way back to compact Boston.