180º Urban Design will be in attendance at the annual Congress for the New Urbanism conference. We will also be at the XNU event on Friday. We will be serving on the panel and sponsoring this event.

Also, Brent Toderian will lead a discussion about observations on the future of New Urbanism from the Vancouver, Canadian, and late-30-something perspective. A panel format and small venue will enable the audience to engage directly in the discussion.

Will you be there this year? Have you been before? Let us know.

Click here for the invitation.

Design in the Works
Small Kansas City area architects are leading the way in cutting-edge designs and proving that bigger isn’t always better.
By Kate Leibsle

It’s not easy being an architect these days. With the tough economy, most businesses and municipalities have put the kibosh on new buildings and even renovations. Still, Kansas City’s small architecture firms are optimistic about the future and are working hard to stay busy and plan for the next construction boom. Instead of focusing on the slowdown, they are concentrating on expanding their services, integrating more green ideas into their work and creatively solving clients’ problems.

180 Urban Design and Architecture, which specializes in designing walkable communities, where residential, commercial and retail are more closely tied together, business is booming. Some of the interest is green related, while some is cities looking at ways to be more efficient with their resources, said Kevin Klinkenberg, a firm principal.

Click here for the full article.

Kevin Klinkenberg on the six transects:
T1. Natural
T2. Rural
T3. Suburban
T4. General Urban
T5. Urban Center
T6. Urban Core

Click here for the full powerpoint version.

How Green is our Valley?
By Jim Romeo– Midwest Contractor

All across America, there is a clear buzz about the need to go green. The construction industry is hopeful that that this provides opportunity to prosper from new construction revitalized by a dearth of LEED projects, which were helped by government policy from a new administration. The construction industry in the Midwest seems quite conscious and hopeful of a new wave of green.

Part of the green growth, however, will hinge on collective thinking as to what constitutes “green.” “There is no doubt that there is incredible market demand for green technologies and green buildings,” says Brian Hendrickson, principal of 180° Urban Design in Kansas City, MO. “This demand will only increase, but those who demand green buildings will also continue to become more educated and savvy as to what is really green and what isn’t. I think the idea of the lone green building standing alone, dissociated from an urban context and accessible only from the interstate is a dead end. Smart consumers already see the fallacy in that idea.”

He adds, “The construction industry consumes just about every industrial resource that there is. There is an inherent responsibility to consume those resources in a more responsible and efficient manner. The next great step in building green will be to look at integrating green construction with sustainable transportation and planning practices. That’s where the real efficiencies are.”
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In an interview from Streetsblog, Congress for the New Urbanism President, John Norquist, discusses what’s broken with national transportation policy and how to fix it. Here is some of the interview:
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