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International Journal of Architectural Research: Archnet-IJAR, the International Journal of Architectural Research, has launched a call for papers for a special edition on Design Education. The special edition will be entitled "Explorations and Prospects for a Better Built Environment", and will form Volume 4 Issue 2 of the series. Co-edited by Professor and INTBAU member Ashraf M. Salama, and Professor Michael J. Crosbie, this special issue is intended for publication in July 2010. "Design Education 2010" will be structured around three categories of contributions that include Paradigms, Positions, and Practices with contributions that address transformations in philosophical foundations, approaches, program contents and structures,models of teaching, case studies and empirical findings. Further information
Ashraf Salama 
NCI comes to the EU: NCI has announced a new partnership with the Centre for Sustainable Communities at the University of Hertfordshire (UH) in Hatfield, UK. The Centre will conduct an ongoing program offering the entire range of NCI trainings specifically adapted for practice in the UK, including local case studies. The first training in this program is the three-day NCI Charrette System Certificate Training on 6-8 October 2009. This training will be conducted by NCI's Director, Bill Lennertz, with assistance from University of Hertfordshire teaching staff. The University will begin offering to the public the complete set of NCI training courses beginning in Spring 2010. An NCI spokesman says "NCI looks forward to this partnership to meet the overseas demand for training in the NCI Charrette System". Further information
National Charrette Institute
Cut 'n' Paste Cities: 
The Arup Foresight Network has put out a global call to action and an invitation to urban dwellers to describe through photography the places and things they love about their cities, and those that they could do without. The brief is to capture through photography what you really like in a city, what makes it tick, and what you would like to see more of in the future. They can be spaces or services, aspects of everyday life or temporary events. Alternatively, describe something that should be removed from the city, a building you could do without, a service that just doesn't work. These are a CUT. Things you like are a PASTE. The project will culminate with an exhibition of curated insights, stories and speculations based on the images. To get started all you need is a photo you have taken with a few keywords that highlight what is special about that place or aspect of the city, along with a description of what you would CUT or PASTE. How to submit a photo If you are a Flickr user add them to the cutnpastecities group. Or if email is easier then just send them to photo @ cutnpastecities.com with the following information:
Rules The photo must be one that you have taken, and one that we can use with your permission. The photo remains your intellectual property; cutnpaste cities will credit you as you wish. Any size and resolution is accepted. Further information
Arup Foresight Network
The Cities Exchange: 
"The Cities Exchange" is an online forum for the exchange of experience. Virtually every human settlement in the world today has encountered some or all of the issues associated with urban growth and urban areas, and most have developed initiatives and solutions to utilise - The Cities Exchange is a place to share your experiences with urban stakeholders all over the world, a place where towns, cities and villages can freely share experience and expertise in the management and development of urban areas. The Cities Exchange is an initiative of Urbanicity - one of the world's leading urban news and information services. With over 106,000 urban stakeholders subscribed worldwide to Urbanicity's information services, initial publicity has led to a fantastic response. In the first four weeks, over 900 towns and cities have indicated their intention to post a study, said and the intention is to reach 10,000 by the end of the year, making the Cities Exchange the most valuable source of urban information sharing in the world. According to Jeremy Flay, chief executive of Urbanicity, "it is a simple concept - simply write a study on what policies and practices have been implemented in your town, city or village, and assess the outcomes - then visit www.thecitiesexchange.org and post it. Everything is welcome - on a micro and macro scale - from the overall plan for urban sustainability in a major city, to the smallest of village issues". The aim is for participating cities to share, learn and benefit.
The Cities Exchange receives no external funding – but according to Flay "it is such a great idea we just had to launch it anyway". If you would like to support this project, Urbanicity would be pleased to receive any donations, large or small, to help offset our costs. Donations may be made online at www.thecitiesexchange.org.
Urbanists Collaborate to Combat Climate Change:
On the 10th of June the Stockholm-based Council for European Urbanism and the US-based Congress for the New Urbanism launched a significant new initiative in Denver, Colorado, growing out of a CEU conference the year before. CEU's Oslo conference on "Climate Change and Urban Design" held in September 2008 proved to be a seminal gathering of representatives of leading government agencies, universities, NGOs and practitioners from around the world. Diana Urge-Vorsatz of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change called it "extremely important" and a "key meeting". Urge-Vorsatz contributed to the briefing report for the COP-15 climate treaty negotiation in Copenhagen in December 2009. She said the Oslo conference would "significantly influence my work". Ray Gindroz, chair of the US-based Congress for the New Urbanism, attended the Oslo conference and pledged ongoing collaboration between the CNU and CEU. He and Harald Kegler, chair of the CEU, developed the "Oslo-Denver Initiative" to take forward the collaboration to the CNU’s annual conference in Denver, Colorado, in June 2009. According to the joint communiqué, the purpose of the collaboration is "to promote practical measures in urban and regional development to counteract climate change". The two organisations began the collaboration in earnest at June 2009 workshop in Denver. Gindroz later announced at a conference plenary that the collaboration would become a major initiative for the CNU, to be continued into the next CNU conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta's Director of Comprehensive Planning Thomas Weyandt attended the workshop, and pledged to stay in touch to share some of their regional work on urban form, greenhouse gas emissions, and the challenge of sprawl in the Atlanta region. Other CNU leaders have pledged to work with members of the US administration, where they have strong ties.
The attendees also reviewed the final communiqué from the Oslo conference, called the "Olso Declaration on Climate Change and Urban Design", and many attendees pledged to sign. The declaration calls for aggressive action to combat climate change through better management of urban sprawl and better policies in transportation and urban form. The declaration can be viewed here, and all are invited to sign by sending an email to CEU Communications Director, Dr Susan Parham. Further information
Oslo Declaration
INTBAU converges with PFBE: INTBAU is pleased to announce that it has completed a convergence process with The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment (PFBE). The convergence will bring the strength and expertise of PFBE to the INTBAU Network, and formalise a long term working arrangement. The convergence is a vote of confidence that proves the worth of the work INTBAU has done over the last nine years. Now that our association with the Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment has become closer and more integrated, we can move on to a new and exciting level in the promotion of the principles to which we all subscribe. Aura Neag will take over the running of the central office and has now the title of INTBAU General Manager. As General Manager, all communication about INTBAU should be directed to Aura in the first instance. Matthew Hardy moves to a joint role with PFBE and INTBAU as Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Urbanism, taking on responsibility for PFBE's Graduate Fellowships, executive education, short courses and so on, while maintaining his interest and involvement with INTBAU in an academic capacity. We all believe that this tailors the talents of all concerned to best effect.
Robert Adam will continue to chair the INTBAU College of Chapters for two years.
Learn New Urbanism Online: 
The Principles and Practice of New Urbanism is a self-paced online course offered by the University of Miami School of Architecture, a world leader in New Urbanism. The course is intended for anyone interested in a comprehensive introduction to New Urbanism, and offers an in-depth introduction to both theory and practice. Students can learn at their own pace and to their own schedules. Developed by the University of Miami School of Architecture, students receive a certificate from the University upon completion of the course. The course helps with preparation for the New Urbanism certification exam from the Congress for the New Urbanism. The course is a new, with the first group of students being certified in Autumn 2008. A second class was underway in early 2009 and the third will begin in April. Course Director Dr Charles Bohl noted that when the course is fully operational, it will probably be able to be taken on an open enrollment basis (sign up and begin the course anytime). Continuing, Bohl said: "the University of Miami School of Architecture has long been a center of teaching and learning for new urbanism and livable community design. In addition to undergraduate and graduate education courses and programs, the School has been a leader in continuing education through School initiatives including the Knight Program in Community Building". "In response to the strong demand for a structured curriculum on the principles and practice of New Urbanism around the world the School of Architecture has leveraged the University of Miami's educational software delivery system to extend the school's expertise in New Urbanism to a worldwide audience so that anyone can now take an introductory course in New Urbanism regardless of where they live and work. NU Online provides students with a basic introduction to the principles and practice of New Urbanism, drawing on three core New Urbanism textbooks, and also prepares students for the CNU Certification Exam. The course provides an extremely cost effective distance learning option for students of New Urbanism that eliminates the time and cost involved in full-time study or travel and scheduling constraints for place-based courses and seminars through this self-paced reading and online curriculum". "Students can choose to take the course by itself, or take both the course and the CNU exam. Students who complete the course successfully will receive a certificate from the University of Miami's School of Architecture. Students who complete the course and pass the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) Certification Exam will earn official certification from the CNU organization". The course was developed by members of Miami's School of Architecture faculty with support from University of Miami President Shalala, and responds to the strong demand for New Urbanism education by students and practitioners. Course costs
New Urbanism Online Course: Further information
Dr. Charles C. Bohl, Director
Tel: +1-305-284-4420
TAG Gets A New Chair
Following the success of the TAG events, such as the New Palladian Exhibition at The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment organised in conjunction with the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America, and the Georgian Group Drawing Prize, presented by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, the new Committee has set itself the task of expanding and extending the membership, as well as entering into strategic partnerships with other key individuals and organisations active in the sphere of Traditional Architecture and the professional organizations in the UK and worldwide. Sagharchi said: "The Traditional Architecture Group is made up of some of the most important firms and individuals at the forefront of the practice of Traditional, Classical Architecture and Urban Design in the UK and worldwide. With the continuing prominence and increasing workload of the Group’s members in the face of the current economic climate, TAG aims to provide the necessary support and representation which its members will need to drive through their agenda of a return to human values and best practice in contemporary, sustainable Traditional Architecture". The expansion of the group's activities has necessitated the restructuring of the role of the Secretary in two spheres of activity; one to concentrate on extending the membership and the other on Communication with the newsmedia and through the website. Accordingly, TAG will be starting a quarterly e-newsletter to members and linked organisations as well as creating new membership tiers and categories to include Corporate, Artisan and Student memberships. Further information
Traditional Architecture Group
The Codes Project: Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional funding from Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co., and GeoDa Center, Arizona State University, this research project and website is an anthology of the codes, laws and related documents that have created, or sought to create, particular urban forms. It aims to build a searchable archive drawn from a broad array of historical documents. So far, the project team have selected documents from around the world, and from all time periods. They define "code" broadly, from legal document to social custom, and aim to include all time periods - from the Code of Hammurabi to the present - and all regions of the world. There are code documents of various kinds, research papers on codes, and a "codes in real life" section that links code to outcome. The site includes both legally-binding codes as well as customary rules that may not have involved a governing authority. These documents provide a rich cultural resource for urban planners, architects, and all others involved in the construction of place. Emily Talen, project director, notes that "this project originated with Andres Duany, who has a deep interest in the history of urban codes... I'm hoping the collection of codes will grow over time. I think the usefulness of the site is that is that it exposes a coding history that many planners and architects might not be aware of. As more codes are provided and we get them posted, we will start to get a sense of the complexity and depth of all manner of rules and regulations guiding the urban pattern". The database is searchable by Sort by Title, Author, Date and Place, and by Era, Region and Subject. While some areas are not yet developed, there is already an impressive number of documents in place. The Codes Database seems likely to become an extremely useful resource for urbanists and historians alike.
The team aims to attract material from as many contributors as possible. If you have a code, a research paper, or a comment, The Codes Project would love to hear from you. You can submit your code or other comment online at codesproject.asu.edu/php/submit.php.
Further information
Emily Talen, AICP, PhD
Views expressed in articles are those of the author and not necessarily of INTBAU
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Click on a title to read the news item...
At the AGM of the Traditional Architecture Group (TAG) at the Royal Institute of British Architects held on the 25th March 2009, ICPT member Alireza Sagharchi (right) was elected to serve as Chair on the Group's Executive Committee. The other appointments include INTBAU members Jan Maciag as Membership Secretary, Peter Kellow as Communications Secretary, and ICTP member Nigel Anderson as Treasurer.
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