What is Latino New Urbanism?

Latino New Urbanism (LNU) is a project that the Transportation and Land Use Collaborative (TLUC) began in 2003. The inspiration to begin LNU happened when TLUC's Executive Director, Katherine Perez read an MIT Master's thesis by Michael Mendez entitled, Latino Lifestyle & the New Urbanism: Synergy against Sprawl. Mendez's findings were the catalyst for TLUC planning and presenting a conference on LNU. The first Latino New Urbanism conference was held last year at the University of Southern California on October 17, 2003. TLUC identified a need to continue the important discussions that began at the first conference. The five-part 2004 Latino New Urbanism Dialogue Series will allow a smaller group of attendees to focus on themes that came out of the initial LNU conference. The half-day series of dialogues will facilitate more personal exchanges between professional planners, consultants, architects, urban designers, academics, activists, elected and staff-level officials on: transportation, urban design & development, health, parks & open spaces, and housing. A second LNU conference is also planned for October 15, 2004. The first and second conference, as well as the Dialogue Series all address the opportunities offered by the intersection of the growing Latino population and future development patterns in California.