UPDATE: The Duany lecture has been canceled.  See this more recent post for more details.

On Thursday April 16th, New Urbanist extraordinare, Andres Duany, will open his three day SmartCode workshop in Decatur with a free talk about Smart Growth principles from 5:30p-8p at Holy Trinity Parish (515 E. Ponce de Leon Ave).

A book signing will follow the event.

Duany never disappoints, so come see what’s sure to be an entertaining romp through the principles and benefits of smart growth.

Thanks to Bo for forwarding!

The full press release can be found after the jump, which includes a little love for Decatur and a quote from Lyn Menne.

DECATUR, Georgia. – Andres Duany – architect, planner, and outspoken critic of suburban sprawl – kicks off a two and a half day workshop on conventional zoning alternatives April 16 in Decatur, delivering a free public lecture that evening, 5:30-8:00p.m., at Holy Trinity Parish, 515 East Ponce de Leon Avenue.

Duany and his Miami firm, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, authored the SmartCode, a regulating approach designed to replace sprawl-enabling, single use zoning with a code that encourages compact, walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods. In the current economic downturn, this topic is particularly hot, as municipalities look for ways to get maximum bang for the buck from investments in water, sewer, and transportation infrastructure. Conventional zoning often frustrates cost-effective strategies because it separates and spreads out building uses and makes private auto travel the only viable means of transportation.

Presented around the country, these semi-annual SmartCode Workshops are designed primarily for planning and design professionals and are organized by PlaceMakers LLC, an international consulting firm with local presence. PlaceMakers seeks workshop locations where innovative planning, with the support of public officials, has shaped successful pedestrian-friendly environments for living, working, and playing. “We’ve been in some great cities and we’re equally pleased to be coming to Decatur,” says PlaceMakers managing principal Hazel Borys, “because our attendees can walk the streets and see the advantages of planning with people, not just cars, in mind.”

Assistant City Manager Lyn Menne, who’s helping sponsor the event, agrees. “Decatur has worked for more than 20 years to make our smart growth ambitions a reality,” she says. “We’re more than happy to encourage other communities in their efforts to do the same.”

John Norquist, CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) and former Milwaukee mayor, will introduce Duany on the opening night. The CNU, the non-profit organization representing New Urbanist planners, designers, and other specialists, will hold its annual convention in Atlanta in 2010.

Also appearing at the SmartCode Workshop opening night: Ellen Dunham-Jones, associate professor and director of the architecture program at Georgia Tech. She’ll be signing her recently published book, Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs, immediately after the Duany lecture.