Nolen in the Nineties
Madison, Wisconsin

John Nolen was one of the U.S.'s most prolific and skilled city planners. A surprisingly large part of his 1909 plan for Madison has been carried out. As the State Capital city located in one of the fastest growing regions of Wisconsin, Madison and Dane County now face increasing development pressures and sprawl that threatens the rural landscape and small towns and villages. In 1994 Design Coalition helped a citizen committee coordinate a conference on land use and planning. Nolen's plan was the starting point for envisioning a future for the county. The 2-day session brought new urbanist and architect Andres Duany, regional planner Phil Lewis and authors James Kunzler and Peter Katz together with hundreds of local planners, developers, activists and citizens.