Charter of the New Urbanism
What It Is
The foundational document of the New Urbanism movement, ratified in 1996 and amended in 2024. 34 principles organized across three scales: the Region, the Neighborhood/District/Corridor, and the Block/Street/Building.
Source: https://www.cnu.org/who-we-are/charter-new-urbanism
Core Stance
The Charter views disinvestment in cities, placeless sprawl, racial and income segregation, environmental deterioration, loss of agricultural land, and erosion of built heritage as one interrelated challenge — not separate problems. Physical solutions alone won’t solve social and economic problems, but those problems can’t be sustained without a coherent physical framework.
Most Relevant Principles for the CLT Project
On Neighborhoods (Principles 10-18)
- Neighborhoods should be compact, pedestrian-friendly, and mixed-use
- Many activities of daily living should occur within walking distance — enabling independence for those who can’t drive (elderly, children)
- A broad range of housing types and price levels can bring diverse ages, races, and incomes into daily interaction, strengthening civic bonds
- Concentrations of civic, institutional, and commercial activity should be embedded in neighborhoods, not isolated in remote complexes
- A range of parks, from tot-lots to community gardens, should be distributed within neighborhoods
On Streets and Buildings (Principles 19-27)
- A primary task of architecture is the physical definition of streets and public spaces as places of shared use
- Streets and squares should be safe, comfortable, and interesting to the pedestrian — configured to encourage walking and enable neighbors to know each other
- Architecture should grow from local climate, topography, history, and building practice
2024 Amendments (Principles 28-34)
- Development and redevelopment should occur without involuntary displacement — affordable housing lost should be replaced or compensated
- Attainable housing is a necessary part of complete communities; public and private action needed to reduce regulatory barriers and expand financing
- Urban design should enable car-free options, which have significant economic, environmental, health, and equity benefits
- The built environment plays an essential role in climate change — walkable communities reduce greenhouse gas impact; localized self-sufficiency is essential for adaptation
The Key Tension
The Charter recognizes that physical solutions can’t solve social problems — but social problems can’t be sustained without good physical frameworks. This maps directly to the CLT project’s argument: you can’t build Relational Accountability without the physical hardware of a village (walkable, human-scaled, shared spaces). The software requires the hardware.