CNU 35 Congress Session Types
Prior to starting your proposal application please review the CNU 35 Call for Proposals Guide.
CNU 35 will be held Tuesday, June 15th through Friday, June 18th, 2027. The Congress Program Committee and CNU Staff will be selecting sessions and placing them within topic tracks to ensure a successful and practical content flow. Proposals for the following session types will be accepted through this submission portal:
- Educational Sessions
- Implementation Sessions
- Project Showcases
- Meetings
Please note the required information specific to each session type, outlined below.
Continuing Education
To demonstrate the educational value of sessions at our annual Congress, CNU staff seeks to qualify as many sessions as possible for continuing education units (CEUs) in partnership with the American Institute of Architects, American Planning Association, and American Society for Landscape Architects. To accomplish this, we require that submitters select the intended educational level of the proposed session, as well as identify Learning Objectives (LOs) for their material. Education Sessions and Implementation Sessions require intended educational level and LOs to be submitted along with their proposal. Meetings and Project Showcases do not require education levels or (LOs) as part of the proposal process.
Education levels for Education Sessions and Implementation Sessions are defined as follows:
Introductory - Material covered is foundational in nature and sessions are designed for attendees who have no prior background or are just starting in the domain of practice presented in the session.
Intermediate - Material is designed for participants who have a working knowledge of the topic and a few years of experience in the domain of practice.
Advanced - Material is designed for participants who have a detailed knowledge of the topic and specific experience applying or using this knowledge in a professional capacity over a long period of time.
Creating quality LOs requires thinking beyond topics to be covered in the session, but rather to written statements that clearly define what attendees will know or be able to do as a result of having attended the session. Each LO must be observable and measurable and complete the sentence: “By the end of this session attendees will be able to….”
Use verbs like:
Define, Recognize, Describe, Discuss, Explain, Identify, and Summarize for Introductory courses;
Apply, Demonstrate, Produce, Analyze, Determine, Critique, Examine, and Summarize for Intermediate courses; and
Assess, Compare, Debate, Generate, Synthesize, Communicate, Propose, and Recommend for Advanced courses.
Avoid words that are vague and open to interpretation, such as know, learn, and understand.
An example of LOs from an Introductory CNU 34 session include:
Explain large scale adaptive re-use redevelopment context without a single "master developer"
Describe how projects came together: the importance of the mixed-use development and design vision in conjunction with code hacks and changes to zoning and review processes and adjacent public infrastructure investment
Discuss the hurdles (and lessons learned) to developing compatible infill housing and maintaining affordability in an increasingly expensive market
Explain why pocket neighborhoods demonstrate thoughtful density, craftsmanship, and livability in a community's evolving urban fabric
Educational Sessions
These sessions provide the backbone of Congress learning opportunities. They are designed to be a deep dive by subject matter experts into core new urbanist topics, issues around the Congress Focus, or current issues in the practice. Educational Sessions can range from entry-level introductions to aspects of new urbanist practice and innovation, to advanced learning around technical subjects, practice, or design. They provide an opportunity for expert presenters to share knowledge directly with attendees. Attendees should be regularly engaged in conversation or activities throughout each session to advance their comprehension of the subject matter. Each educational session should have a facilitator who ensures the presentation is cohesive and delivers on the learning objectives, especially if there are multiple presenters.
Implementation Sessions
To help expand the body of built examples and adopted policies that make up the practice of New Urbanism, Implementation Sessions are designed to provide attendees with a demonstration of the effective implementation of a policy, strategy, or design technique used in achieving our shared vision. They provide an opportunity for practitioners of various levels of experience to share knowledge and direct experience of implementation with attendees. Each implementation session should have a facilitator who ensures the presentation is cohesive and delivers on the learning objectives, especially if there are multiple presenters.
Project Showcase
This session type is your opportunity to show a single project or suite of projects that demonstrate an aspect(s) of or innovation in the new urbanist practice. Project Showcase sessions can include critiques, practical analysis, lessons-learned, demonstrations of success or failures, the disconnect between the plans and reality of a project, or project outcomes. This session type is designed to be a quick look at something attendees can learn from - with the expectation that each project fits in a 15-minute window (inclusive of questions). Single project submissions will be combined by the Congress Program Committee into cohesive sessions that are topical, thematic, or otherwise make sense together. In the instance of combined projects, CNU may assign a facilitator to ensure the session remains cohesive for the attendees within a 75 or 60 minute session.
Meetings
CNU makes space at the annual Congress for focused discussions, critiques, and deep dives into specific areas of new urbanist practice. Meetings are not panel presentations, should be related to the Congress Focus, and solicit meaningful engagement from the participants. Meetings should have an outcome (i.e. gather interest in drafting a document) and do not provide CEUs. Examples of a previous successful meeting and its outcome: At CNU 33, a group of transportation planners got together to discuss the landscape of their work given the political climate of 2025. As a facilitated conversation, attendees shared individual experiences, goals, ideas, and concerns - ultimately resulting in the group building an agenda for what New Uranists in transportation fields wanted to accomplish. This meeting resulted in a formal Transportation Resource Forum, a group that continues to meet and is planning a formal gathering in conjunction with CNU 35. Each meeting should have a facilitator to lead the discussion towards the intended outcome and a scribe to capture the outcome. If you are interested in hosting a meeting, email us.
Main Stage Presentations and Workshops are outside of this call for proposals. Information on this will be made available at cnu.org/cnu35 as the program develops.