Awards Overview

New England. The name for our region evokes images of Beacon Hill, Littleton, Litchfield, Nantucket, Newport, Portland, Peacham, Providence, Portsmouth, Camden and Mystic. Quintessential town greens and commons, charming main streets, vibrant city neighborhoods, riverwalks, and glorious architecture.

New England possesses a great wealth of inspiring places, yet for the last 50 years our region (and the rest of the country) has been growing in ways that are inimical to the forms and patterns of our most loved cities, towns, villages, neighborhoods, and hamlets. However, recent initiatives and developments demonstrate that New England is starting to build on our valuable heritage and creating new communities for our future. Today, we have an unprecedented opportunity to capitalize on increased public awareness of the benefits of mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented planning and design by recognizing the best of smart growth, transit-oriented developments, context sensitive design, open space protection, public realm design and architecture.

In 2006 we inaugurated the CNU New England Awards. From 11 outstanding entries, five award winners were selected: Mashpee Commons (Cape Cod, Massachusetts) submitted by Cornish Associates; Boston’s Newest Smart Growth Corridor (Boston, Massachusetts) submitted by Goody Clancy; Vermont Neighborhoods Project (Addison County, Vermont) submitted by Vermont Forum on Sprawl; Downcity Providence (Rhode Island) submitted by Cornish Associates; and Smith Hill (Providence, Rhode Island) submitted by Donald Powers Architects.

The 2007 CNU New England Awards recognize the best of new urbanist plans, programs, designs, and projects based upon the principles set forth in the Charter of the New Urbanism. (The term “project” is used throughout this document to include plans, programs, designs, and projects.) This awards program is intended to enhance the overall quality of planning and development and to raise awareness within the region about the role of new urbanism in addressing the region’s challenges.

We are delighted to turn the spotlight on those planners, program administrators, public officials, citizens, designers, architects, landscape architects, engineers, contractors, and developers who are leading the way forward.