Center for Applied Transect Studies

Education

The Center for Applied Transect Studies sponsors educational initiatives and workshops in transect-based planning conducted by the Transect Codes Council. CATS also endorses similar efforts by independent firms, listed at right.

Previous Workshops

CNU 202E SmartCode Calibration Workshop
Wednesday, May 29, 2013 | 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM | Salt Lake City, UT
4 AIA Health Safety & Welfare & Sustainable Design Credits | 4 AICP CM Credits

The best way to learn form-based code writing is to actually do it.

In just four hours of this hands-on technical workshop, participants completed an accelerated version of what normally takes a few months. They studied base maps, completed field research, calibrated the open-source SmartCode framework for a study area, compared the new T-Zoning with the existing code, and sketched out a Transect-based regulating plan. Teams led by experienced code calibrators calibrated T4, T5, and T6 in our plan and code.

This session was organized by CNU21, and staffed with four TCC members.

Peery Hotel at CNU

May 28 through 31 at the historic Peery Hotel, 110 W. Broadway, Salt Lake City, Utah. The Transect Codes Council helped to present this special event, which included a Welcome Party, Evening Lecture Series, and Nightly Debates, in conjunction with CNU 21.

The historic Peery is located three blocks from the principal venue of the Congress. Peery Hotel at CNU took place in its wonderfully scaled lobby, bar, and conference rooms. There are several ideas behind controlling the public rooms: 1) a nostalgia for CIAM’s famous cruise from Marseilles to Athens, during which debates led to game-changing urban initiatives, 2) the emerging initiative of the NextGen to have an off-site semi-structured venue, 3) a paper written by Matt Lambert for Living Urbanism, proposing how an alternative way for a Congress to be run – with emphasis on the physical layout, 4) to make more focused the unstructured time between the last daily event at the Congress and bedtime, 5) to avoid the loss of energy that often takes place when everyone decants without a particular gathering place, and 6) the ever-present desire to revert to the original, authentic Congress format.

The hotel lobby has two large venues, one medium-sized, and three board rooms – all related to a bar, restaurant, and a very wide sidewalk immediately outside. There was a time and place for every kind of organized conglomeration, as well as individual anarchies. The agenda was partially pre-structured, partially structured on a rolling basis, and also ad hoc – just short of chaotic.

Peery Hotel at CNU was a complement to the numerous private gatherings, regional meetings, "the party," and the informal discussions that are often said to be the best part of the Congress. This initiative was in support of the CNU, to make it better – not to displace it.

Tuesday, May 28

Welcome Party and Launch of SmartCode Live: 4:30 – 11:30 pm
Kickoff CNU 21 at the Peery Hotel! Reunite with old friends and make new ones. Find out what’s been happening with the SmartCode and see the unveiling of Version 10, the most comprehensive update of the code since it was introduced 10 years ago. Talk with the experts about how the SmartCode has been applied in cities around the country.

4:30-5:30 Andrés Duany: The State of the SmartCode

5:30-5:45 break

5:45-6:15 Hazel Borys: The Economics of Walkability

6:15-6:45 Matt Lambert: SmartCode v10 Unveiled – The Big Picture

6:45-7:30 World Café: Small group debates around select SmartCode calibrations and their effectiveness – Miami, FL; San Marcos, TX; Montgomery, AL; Petaluma, CA; Sarasota, FL; New Castle County, DE; Gulfport, MS

7:30-9:30 Andrés Duany leads a Panel Discussion on SmartCodes Applied

9:30-11:30 Welcome Party

Wednesday, May 29

SmartCode Live Evening Lecture Series in the Board Room: 6:30 – 8:30 pm

Matt Lambert, Susan Henderson, Marina Khoury: SmartCode v10 Unveiled – The Nitty Gritty
Galina Tachieva: SmartCode Module Spotlight – Sprawl Repair Applied
Andres Duany: Coding for the New Economy

NGNU Debate at the Bar: 8:30 pm – 12:30 am
Oxford debate meets American Idol on current hot topics in urbanism. Leading urbanists will provide brief commentary between each presentation, American Idol style, critiquing the argument presented and try to persuade and inform the audience.

Parliamentary Debate in the Lobby: 8:30 pm – 12:30 am
A rowdier, more impassioned style of debate on current hot topics in urbanism

Thursday, May 30

SmartCode Live Evening Lecture Series: 6:30 – 8:30 pm

Dan Slone: Communicating with the Tea Party & Agenda 21
Rick Hall: SmartCode Transportation in Action – Nuances and Breakthroughs
Steve Mouzon: Walk Appeal – Why the SmartCode Matters to Neighborhood Business Survival
Andrés Duany: SmartCode Be Nimble, SmartCode Be Quick – Getting Tactical

Parliamentary Debate in the Lobby: 8:30 pm – 12:30 am
A rowdier, more impassioned style of debate on current hot topics in urbanism

Friday, May 31

Parliamentary Debate in the Lobby: 8:30 pm – 12:30 am
A rowdier, more impassioned style of debate on current hot topics in urbanism

The Transect Codes Council presents
Smarter Codes, Smarter Growth:
How to Achieve your Smart Growth Goals through Zoning Code Reform
A pre-conference workshop at New Partners for Smart Growth
Charlotte, North Carolina

Fourteen of the nation’s leading Smart Growth practitioners, led by renowned urbanist Andrés Duany, provide an information-packed, day-long workshop at the Westin Charlotte Hotel. This workshop will provide everything you ever wanted to know about Smart Growth Codes, the most effective tools cities have for creating healthy, walkable communities. Learn the most timely and cost-effective ways to get from sprawl-inducing conventional zoning to comprehensive coding for character, community and public health.

This workshop was recorded, and can be viewed at Sustainable Urbanism Online.

Transect Discussion List

Please contact us if you would like to join the Transect Discussion List for urbanists and environmentalists.

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