Transit-oriented development (TOD) seeks to maximize access to mass transit and nonmotorized transportation with centrally located rail or bus stations surrounded by relatively high-density commercial and residential development. New Urbanists and smart growth proponents have embraced the concept and interest in TOD is growing, both in the United States and around the world.

New Transit Town brings together leading experts in planning, transportation, and sustainable design—including Scott Bernstein, Peter Calthorpe, Jim Daisa, Sharon Feigon, Ellen Greenberg, David Hoyt, Dennis Leach, and Shelley Poticha—to examine the first generation of TOD projects and derive lessons for the next generation. It offers topic chapters that provide detailed discussion of key issues along with case studies that present an in-depth look at specific projects. Topics examined include:

• the history of projects and the appeal of this form of development
• a taxonomy of TOD projects appropriate for different contexts and scales
• the planning, policy and regulatory framework of "successful" projects
• obstacles to financing and strategies for overcoming those obstacles
• issues surrounding traffic and parking
• the roles of all the actors involved and the resources available to them
• performance measures that can be used to evaluate outcomes

Case Studies include Arlington, Virginia (Roslyn-Ballston corridor); Dallas (Mockingbird Station and Addison Circle); historic transit-oriented neighborhoods in Chicago; Atlanta (Lindbergh Center and BellSouth); San Jose (Ohlone-Chynoweth); and San Diego (Barrio Logan).

New Transit Town explores the key challenges to transit-oriented development, examines the lessons learned from the first generation of projects, and uses a systematic examination and analysis of a broad spectrum of projects to set standards for the next generation. It is a vital new source of information for anyone interested in urban and regional planning and development, including planners, developers, community groups, transit agency staff, and finance professionals.

Under the auspices of ArtsEngine at the University of Michigan, the Mellon Research Project examines the increasingly prevalent integration of arts practice and study at research universities. ArtsEngine National’s initial mission to “transform the research university through the infusion of arts practice” in response to growing recognition of the value of arts integration practices across the landscape of higher education led to a $500,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This grant supported an initial investigation of present practices in arts integration at researchuniversities, encompassing a national network of faculty and administrators who embrace innovative methods in teaching, research, and co-curricular programming linking the arts to other disciplinary domains.
This study presents “best practices in the integration of arts practice in U.S. research universities . . . , fulfill[ing] the need for a document that articulates models, obstacles, implementation strategies, costs, and impact on students and faculty as well as on research, practice, and teaching in other knowledge areas” (ArtsEngine). Rather than providing a detailed set of instructions, this document maps the landscape of arts integration at 30 partner institutions in the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru) and at 16 other institutions. It highlights aspirational models and presents an overall guide to current practices linking the arts to other learning areas.