TND Design Rating Standards
rating system for the evaluation of neighborhood-scale urban design. The system was developed in order to provide a consistent, transparent set of standards for the Town Paper's links list. Portions of the Standards have since been incorporated in the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED-ND rating system.
• Home Page of the TND Design Rating Standards - Includes scoring parameters, discussions, case studies, and a worksheet to derive a total score.
• "Five Stars for Urban Design" - An overview from the American Planning Association's New Urbanism Division Newsletter, Summer, 2005 issue.
• The TND Design Rating Standards system is listed in the EPA compilation Smart Growth scorecards (2006).
Neighborhoods and Safety
A debate about about safety and crime in new urban neighborhoods. Consists
of several parts:
- My letter
to the editor of Reason magazine concerning its article "Crime-Friendly
Neighborhoods," and my similar, but more detailed, point-by-point
rebuttal of the article
- A response
from one of the article's authors
- My reply
to the author
- Some of my various comments on this
topic in the "Related Materials"
Some of the most desirable historic neighborhoods in the U.S. were built
at surprisingly high densities. This article describes the character
of these "all-star" places, and lists the densities of selected
neighborhoods as determined by the Census 2000.
Ghansoli Node: TOD By the Bay
The world's largest new urban neighborhood is located in the world's
largest new city. Ghansoli Node (projected population 150,000) is a
transit-oriented development under construction in Navi Mumbai, India
(projected population 2,000,000). The article covers the background
and design features of the project.
The First Transect Seminar
The Transect describes and codes for the character of built environments.
It's also a preliminary attempt to integrate human habitat into the
field of ecology. This story covers the speakers and topics that were
presented at the public seminar, held at the Yale School of Architecture.
to the U.S.: Geography, Assimilation and Neighborhoods
A review of the literature on immigration during the 1990's. Looks
at where immigrants are settling and how segregated they are from native
Americans. Discusses immigrant quality of life in relation to crowding,
health and nativist regulations. Concludes with policy recommendations.
Growth and Consequences:
Austin and Ottawa Compared
How can you tell if a city has managed its growth successfully? This
report uses transit ridership and open space preservation as indicators
of growth management policy performance. The years 1970-1996 are the
Coney Island: Forty Years as the
An essay on cultural history 1885-1925. Tens of millions visited a sandy
peninsula in Brooklyn every summer to play. What accounted for the popularity
of America's earliest thrill rides and theme parks?
Ped Shed Blog - My blog about walkable urban design and sustainable placemaking.
The Ecothresholds Project -
Understanding thresholds in global change and their implications for decisionmaking.
Mississippi Renewal Forum - Documents the design and planning initiative to rebuild the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Original design by ICharrette.
Congress for the New Urbanism DC Chapter
- Features a calendar of local events for urban planners, designers
The Town Paper - Publications
about urbanism and town design. Includes a directory of links to TNDs
and new urban neighborhoods.
Timeline of New Urbanism -
Online database of events, projects and practitioners of new urban design,
from 19th century antecedents to the present.
Viridian Graphics - includes
the following contest entries and designs: Font,
Health Warning, Dead Mike, Greenhouse
Disaster Symbol, Magazine Cover (contest
winner), Hot Rod, Web
Page Composition 1 (selected design), Web
Page Composition 2, Enron Logo
A collection of maps, photographs and art in a variety of media.
Laurence (L.J.) Aurbach is an editor, researcher and graphic designer. He holds degrees in geography and automotive technology
and has expertise in urban studies and graphic arts. His writing
and artwork have appeared in a variety of books, magazines and websites.
He is a contributor to the LEED for Neighborhood Developments Rating System and served on the review panel for the EPA
National Award for Smart Growth Achievement in 2005 and 2007.
Comments and inquiries are welcome:
All works on this website are Copyright © 1999-2007
by Laurence Aurbach