Land Use

Roger E. Eastman recounts the process and product of a recent effort by Flagstaff, Arizona to replace an outdated zoning code with an innovative hybrid of form-based and Euclidean elements.

Emily Badger recounts the litany of gripes about Big Box stores, then proceeds to present the results of a recent study that shows why they may not be so bad after all.

Emily Badger reports on surreptitious wayfinding signage that has been appearing mysteriously under the cover of darkness in Raleigh.

David Alpert provides a thorough analysis of the first third of Washington D.C.'s proposed new zoning code, and finds a return to kind of development patterns that formed the neighborhoods residents treasure today.

Chuck Wolfe uses the urban scale adaptive reuse of the Roman Emperor Diocletian's retirement palace in Split, Croatia to argue for blending the past and future on a broader scale.

Andrew H. Whittemore contends that planners dismiss the far-fetched theories of a grand United Nations sustainability conspiracy at their own peril.

Three years after its adoption, Sean McCaughan assesses the impact of Miami 21, first New Urbanist zoning code adopted by a major American city.

Stephanie Clifford documents the extraordinary lengths malls across the country are going to in hopes of attracting customers in the face of e-commerce and a battered economy.

The new exhibit at Toyko's Mori Art Museum will be the first architecture showcase since the 2011 earthquake, and displays a movement central to the country's history of building and rebuilding.

Scott Doyon argues for a stripped-down, back-to-basics 'punk rock' approach to urban growth and development to replace the 'rock and roll' excesses of planning during the housing boom; and he profiles the new innovators who are doing just that.

Marc Santora pens a pity piece for the fate of the automobile in New York City. Whereas, once upon a time the car was doing the bullying, the 'once-exalted automobile is now under siege.'

Joseph Berger reports on New York City's efforts to protect local retailers with new zoning in Manhattan's Upper West Side, where the proliferation of chain stores, banks, and pharmacies have caused consternation.

The city’s MillionTrees program fights asthma and global warming. But tightening maintenance budgets, increasingly severe weather and decades-old planting decisions complicate trees’ contribution.

Even in New York City, it's a pain to try to "green" a building with insulation, overhangs, and other methods that violate zoning. Katharine Jose reports on the Zone Green Text Amendment, which addresses such impediments, and the team behind it.

The prior code, adopted in 1962 and amended with with nearly 1,000 ad-hoc revisions since then, required a strict separation of uses and outlawed the classic Philadelphia rowhouse typology.

The San Francisco neighborhood of Chinatown temporarily removed parking from Stockton Street for a week during the busy Lunar New Year season. Aaron Bialick reports on the results.

Nate Berg reports on information compiled in the 8th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey, and asks to what extent the affordability of housing is tied to land use policies and how much is related to other factors.