What we can do as Students...
As students there is plenty that we can do to become more involved and increasingly influential in New Urbanism! Already students all over Illinois are becoming more and more involved in this growing movement. Education and organization are valuable tools in our efforts to spread New Urbanism. Start with some of these key steps...

1. Join CNU and CNU Illinois Join a New Urbanism Student organization at your school
2. Start a New Urbanism Student organization at your school
3. Visit Illinois Universities that have a New Urbanism focus
4. Contact Student Chair of CNU Illinois

Join CNU and CNU ILLINOIS
By joining CNU and CNU Illinois you will involve yourself in an organization that is dedicated to curbing urban sprawl and promoting good quality urban design. As a member you will be supporting this movement! You will also receive updates on upcoming NU events, New Urbanist publications, information about the annual Congress, and contacts with leading New Urbanist figures across the state and nation. This is the first step in being a part of the New Urbanist movement.

The Congress for New Urbanism: http://www.cnu.org/join
The Congress for New Urbanism-Illinois Chapter: http://www.cnu.org/illinois

New Urbanism Discourse
New Urbanism Discourse was founded in 2004 to unite urban conscious planning and architecture students at the University of Illinois. Their events range from small coffee shop discussions, field trips to New Urbanist sites, hosting faculty and guest lectures, and even NU movie nights.

Start a New Urbanism Student Organization
Starting a New Urbanism Group at your high school or university might not be as hard as you think. All schools have student organizations for groups of like-minded students. There are probably way more people interested in sprawl and urban issues at your school than you might know.

Illinois Universities and New Urbanism
Four universities across the state of Illinois offer degrees in Architecture. Two of those schools have programs specifically aligned with urban design and urban architecture.

University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign offers a dual degree graduate program with the School of Architecture and the Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Students in this program can earn a dual Masters degree in both Architecture and Urban Planning three years time. Within the program are a variety of courses and faculty oriented toward urbanism and New Urbanism.
http://www.arch.uiuc.edu/programs/degree/march/dualdegree/march_MUP/

University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago offers an urban-oriented graduate degree titled Landscape Urbanism. The students in the Landscape Urbanism program have studios that concentrate on public space, public buildings, and other elements of urban infrastructure and design.
http://www.arch.uic.edu/program_g.php

Judson University
Founded in 1997 and accredited in 2004 the program consists of a 136-hour Bachelor of Arts degree in architecture (B.A.A.S.) and a 42-hour master degree in architecture (M.Arch.). Students in architecture may elect to concentrate in Sustainable Design or Traditional Architecture and Urbanism. The School is housed in the Harm A. Weber Academic Center, a state of the art LEED Gold building.
http://arch.judsonu.edu

Waukegan Downtown and Lakefront Master Plan; CNU 2003 Charter Award Winner; Image: SOM