CNU Support

The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) is a national organization of urban planners and public service professionals which promotes “walkable, mixed-use neighborhood  development, sustainable communities and healthier living conditions.” CNU and their Central Texas chapter “are dedicated to promoting alternatives to sprawl through the sustainable design and development of traditional neighborhoods, urban blocks, street networks, districts, towns, cities and regions.”

On February 14, 2011, they issued a letter in support of our neighborhood schools to Mark Williams, President of the Austin ISD Board of Trustees, Mayor Lee Leffingwell, and County Judge Same Biscoe.

An excerpt:

As referenced numerous times in the Vision Statement for the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan (endorsed by city council), neighborhood schools and their campuses are critical to keeping Austin livable, attractive, accessible and desirable for all Austinites – especially families with children. In 2006, the national CNU Board of Directors endorsed the following policies for appropriately designed and sited schools:

• Schools should add value to their surrounding neighborhoods as a civic space and
• reinforce community identity.
• Minimum acreage requirements should be abolished. Schools should be sized and
• located to enable children to walk or bicycle to them.
• Parents should be allowed to choose the best schools for their children without having to move residences.

You can download and read the letter in its entirety here.

Thank you CNU for your support!