April’s Must-Reads: Top 10 Articles From Last Month

April brought a diverse array of news from across the planning spectrum. Below we’ve compiled a list of Planetizen’s most popular content published last month. A groundbreaking solar project in Ohio, mall revitalization efforts in Pennsylvania, and bad news for California EV owners came in at the top, along with a Supreme Court Decision that tightens the screws on development fees. Parking and California’s declining population were also popular topics. Happy reading!

1. Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US

The most popular article on Planetizen in April was about the approval of an ambitious solar project in Ohio that will combine energy production with crop and sheep production. Oak Run Solar, an 800MW project that will power 170,000 homes, will be built on 6,000 acres near Columbus. It’s the largest venture of its kind in the U.S. to date.

2. Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House

Next up, in a bid to revitalize underused commercial spaces, the Pennsylvania House passed a bill to incentivize mall redevelopment. If passed by the state senate, the legislation would offer tax incentives and establish a committee of real-estate, planning, and economic development experts to guide mall transformations.

3. California EV Owners To Lose Carpool Lane Privilege

California EV owners got bad news last month: Starting in September 2025, California will restrict carpool lanes to actual carpools, excluding hybrid, electric, and compressed natural gas vehicles. EV drivers have had carpool lane privilege since 1999, but extending the policy requires approval from Congress and the California legislature, which is unlikely in the current political climate.

4. U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause

Planetizen blogger Irvin Dawid breaks down the recent unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling that developers and home builders in California can challenge fees imposed by cities and counties for public improvements.

5. Depopulation Patterns Get Weird

Several California cities, including San Francisco in the number-one spot, feature on a list of “Fastest Declining Cities in the U.S.” What is driving this trend?

6. California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million

In his second blog post in this list, California's declining population is on Planetizen blogger Irvin Dawid’s mind as well. His blog post explores why the state’s lofty population projections of 40 million by 2018 have fallen short by millions.

7. Want to Reduce Traffic Congestion? Cash Out Employer-Paid Parking

Parking guru Donald Shoup weighs in on New York City’s congestion pricing plan. He says the scheme is at risk of being undermined by employer-paid parking, which substantially subsidizes driving. His proposed solution: parking cash out.

8. LA Parking Reform is Bearing Fruit

The second parking story in this month’s top 10 brings good news for advocates for reducing or eliminating parking minimums. Los Angeles County's updated minimum parking requirements, particularly near transit lines, are driving developers to propose residential projects with limited or no on-site parking. 

9. Boston Moves Zoning Reform Forward

The Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) is backing citywide zoning changes. "Squares + Streets zoning" will create form-based zoning templates for neighborhoods that promote mixed use, walkability, and infill development. and denser housing near transit.

10. New Philly Fare Gates ‘Astonishingly Easy to Beat’

Last but not least, SEPTA may have a little egg on its face after reports of how easy it is to get past its new fare gates at the 69th Street station without paying. Since the gates were designed specifically to combat fare evasion, some question whether expansion to other stations is a good investment.

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Editor’s note: Portions of this Planetizen blog post were generated using OpenAI’s language model, ChatCPT. Planetizen editors have been looking into ethical uses of AI in journalism and wanted to test it. In this post, ChatGPT was used to summarize previously published Planetizen stories, which provided text that served as a starting point and then was edited and refined further. We want to assure our readers that any policies adopted around the use of AI on Planetizen content will be grounded in transparency .