Land Use

Miami, Florida

11 Years Later: Miami 21 Zoning Code Ready for an Update

Miami 21 was approved in 2009 and heralded as a sign of a new era in zoning. Since then, Miami 21 has been both credited and blamed for the city's transformation.

June 22, 2020 - Miami Herald

Housing protest

The Case for Letting Developers Pay Not to Build

Inclusionary zoning requires new developments to include affordable units, but many cities allow developers to bypass this by paying an off-site fee. Is the fee-out option getting unfairly demonized?

June 19, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

Snowy Residential Neighborhood

Property Tax Disparities Grow as Housing Prices Grow

The authoritative report on the state of property taxes in the United States was released earlier this month.

June 18, 2020 - Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Phoenix

Sun Belt Cities Need a New Approach to Urbanism

The unique growth and challenges facing large cities in the U.S. Sun Belt will require a break from the kinds of policies generated to serve Northeastern and Midwestern cities over the course of U.S. history.

June 18, 2020 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research: The Urban Edge

Tamir Rice

Planning Beyond Mass Incarceration

Sheryl-Ann Simpson from Carleton University, Justin Steil from MIT, and Aditi Mehta from the University of Toronto write about a recent article they co-authored in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.

June 18, 2020 - JPER

Public Outreach

Regulatory Considerations for Online Public Engagement: Ensuring the Viability of Projects

As online engagement becomes increasingly important during COVID-19, so does understanding compliance with legal requirements.

June 17, 2020 - Stantec

Park Rendering

Community Park Addresses Open Space, Air Quality Disparities in L.A.

Lou Calanche and Esther Feldman discuss the Natural Park at Ramona Gardens, a green solution project to improve air quality and community health in one of the most polluted neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

June 17, 2020 - The Planning Report

Coronavirus

Zoning Code Reform for the Realities of COVID-19

Local governments have more tools than money to relieve some of the economic experience experienced by residents and businesses as the economic effects of the novel coronavirus linger just as long as the public health crisis it causes.

June 17, 2020 - Code Studio

Inwood Hudson RIver

Lack of Racial Impact Analysis Opens Inwood Plan to Legal Challenge in New York City

New York City is appealing a judge's decision to toss the Inwood NYC Action Plan, approved by the city in 2018. Next City describes the racial justice implications of the court case and the plan.

June 17, 2020 - Next City

Sherman, Texas

Pandemic Data for Planners

The right data will be critical in crafting effective responses to the threats posed by the coronavirus.

June 16, 2020 - Kayla Matthews

Muni

CEQA Exemptions Could Finally Be Granted to Sustainable Transportation Projects

California has traditionally granted environmental exemptions to large projects like football stadiums, a practice criticized by environmentalists and urbanists alike. SB 288 would change that, with exemptions for sustainable transportation projects.

June 16, 2020 - San Francisco Chronicle

Georgia

Pandemic Expected to Dampen Enthusiasm for Mixed-Use Developments

The retail component of the mixed-use development business model is expected to face a long, challenging downturn, and developers and designers are looking in other directions to make ends meet in the meantime.

June 15, 2020 - The New York Times

Black Lives Matter

Watch: Responding to Anti-Black Racism in Planning and Urbanism

A must-watch conversation between BIPOC researchers and advocates working in the realm of planning and urbanism is available to watch on YouTube.

June 15, 2020 - Canadian Urban Institute

Tysons Corner

The Great Retrofit: Transforming Tysons With Walkable Residential Development

A 2010 comprehensive plan set a goal to add 100,000 residential units with walkable access to public transit to this unincorporated corner of Fairfax County in Northern Virginia.

June 14, 2020 - Greater Greater Washington

Urban Tree Canopy

Another Way to Achieve Racial Justice: Zoning Reform

An opinion piece calls out suburban communities for perpetuating structural inequality and housing discrimination. Recently converted social justice advocates should focus their zeal on zoning reform, according to the argument that follows.

June 14, 2020 - Louisville Courier Journal

Twin Cities

Advocates Push for Policy Reform to Overcome History of Discriminatory Deed Covenants

The debate about police reform in Minneapolis is only one arena for the city's reckoning with systemic racism.

June 11, 2020 - Next City

Coronavirus Protest

Debating the Future of Cities After the Coronavirus, Volume 3

The third installment of an ongoing, curated list of a particularly contemporary genre of urbanism punditry.

June 10, 2020 - James Brasuell

Coronavirus and Homelessness

Reports Offers COVID-19 Recovery Guidance for Struggling Communities

Communities struggling with the economic, social, and health realities of the 21st century must start planning now to mitigate the worst outcomes of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report from the Center for Community Progress.

June 9, 2020 - Center for Community Progress

Maryland

Silver Spring Downtown Plan Expanding to Make Room for the Missing Middle

Planners are hoping that by expanding the boundaries of the Silver Spring Downtown Plan in Montgomery County, Maryland, new opportunities for missing middle housing will create new opportunities for housing affordability.

June 9, 2020 - Greater Greater Washington

Social Justice

Connecting the Dots Between Planning and Policing

The newest issue the Journal of Planning and Education Research responds to a clear need of the time: the need to address social justice in the public realm while reforming planning practices in the United States.

June 4, 2020 - Journal of Planning and Education Research

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.