The Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas is located in the very southernmost region of the continental U.S.  This area is composed of three counties with 3,643 square miles which contains a population of over 1.2 million inhabitants.1 This land area is larger in square miles than two states (DE and RI), and has a population larger than eight states (WY, VT, ND, AK, SD, DE, MT, RI). If the distances weren’t enough of a problem for transit providers, there is the dispersion of the population over those 3,600 square miles. Dispersion occurs as a result of small, very poor housing communities called colonias.

CNU 20 Hot Topics: Doing Well By Doing Good - Since 1982 Through bust and boom, New Urbanist projects outperformed their neighbors and through the recession they have held their value better. Building the New Urbanism means having a flexible, diversified portfolio that can weather the storms of the market without missing the peaks. At CNU 20, you will expand your ability to survive and thrive in the marketplace by appealing to different generations of buyers and catching up with the major trends in real estate. Designing Place Collaboratively - Since 1993 The coming decades of planning will require responses to a myriad of concerns including economic, environment, fiscal, and social challenges. These challenges will require a long-term, coordinated response with solutions that cross disciplinary boundaries. For over 20 years, New Urbanists have been fighting alongside fellow planners and architects for holistic, interdisciplinary solutions to our most pressing problems. The annual…

Four documents related to pedestrians and walkability have been added to the Resource Center best practices database.

Sacramento Regional Transit's draft TransitRenewal 2012-2017 Sevice Implementation for TransitAction has been added to the Research Center best practices database. The document aims to position the transit district's network to sustainably meet future transit demand within its service area.

A 2009 report prepared by the National Bus Rapid Transit Institute, Center for Urban Transportation Research, on behalf of the Federal Transit Administration has been added the Resource Center best practices database.  "Bus Rapid Transit and Development: Policies and Practices that Affect Development Around Transit" explores the relationship between land use and bus rapid transit (BRT) system development in comparison to other fixed-guideway modes such as heavy and light rail.

A 2003 working paper from Robert Cervero and Michael Duncan of University of California, Berkeley, has been added to the Research Center best practices. "Walking, Bicycling, and Urban Landscapes: Evidence from the San Francisco Bay Area" examines the question of what impact the built environment has on non-motorized travel (NMT) behavior.