Principles of CNU Charter

Question 1

Principle One

Answer 1

The metropolitan region is a fundamental economic unit of the contemporary
world. Governmental cooperation, public policy, physical planning, and economic
strategies must reflect this new reality

Question 2

Two

Answer 2

Metropolitan regions are finite places with geographic boundaries derived from
topography, watersheds, coastlines, farmlands, regional parks, and river basins.
The metropolis is made of multiple centers that are cities, towns, and villages, each
with its own identifiable center and edges.

Question 3

Three

Answer 3

The metropolis has a necessary and fragile relationship to its agrarian hinterland
and natural landscapes. The relationship is environmental, economic, and cultural.
Farmland and nature are as important to the metropolis as the garden is to the house.

Question 4

Four

Answer 4

Development patterns should not blur or eradicate the edges of the metropolis.
Infill development within existing areas conserves environmental resources,
economic investment, and social fabric, while reclaiming marginal and abandoned
areas. Metropolitan regions should develop strategies to encourage such infill
development over peripheral expansion.

Question 5

Five

Answer 5

Where appropriate, new development contiguous to urban boundaries should
be organized as neighborhoods and districts, and be integrated with the existing
urban pattern. Noncontiguous development should be organized as towns and
villages with their own urban edges, and planned for a jobs/housing balance,
not as bedroom suburbs.

Question 6

Six

Answer 6

The development and redevelopment of towns and cities should respect historical 49
patterns, precedents, and boundaries.

Question 7

Seven

Answer 7

Cities and towns should bring into proximity a broad spectrum of public and
private uses to support a regional economy that benefits people of all incomes.
Affordable housing should be distributed throughout the region to match job
opportunities and to avoid concentrations of poverty

Question 8

Eight

Answer 8

The physical organization of the region should be supported by a framework of
transportation alternatives. Transit, pedestrian, and bicycle systems should maximize
access and mobility throughout the region while reducing dependence on
the automobile.

Question 9

Nine

Answer 9

Revenues and resources can be shared more cooperatively among the municipalities 65
and centers within regions to avoid destructive competition for tax base and to
promote rational coordination of transportation, recreation, public services, housing,
and community institutions.

Question 10

Ten

Answer 10

The neighborhood, the district, and the corridor are the essential elements of
development and redevelopment in the metropolis. They form identifiable areas that
encourage citizens to take responsibility for their maintenance and evolution.