Land Use

Details of a New Master Plan for Massachusetts Suburb
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council guided the town of North Reading, located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, through a new master planning process.

Missing Middle Housing Studied in Suburban Virginia
Almost 90% of Arlington County land zones for residential use is reserved for single-family homes. Would adding missing middle housing in the form of duplexes and triplexes keep the price of housing in a more manageable range?

3 Ways to Overcome a Century of Car-Centric Planning
The consequences of car-centric planning are clear, a century after cars took over streets and lives across this country. According to this article, so to is a new way forward.

Affordable Housing Required for Development on L.A. City Properties
The Los Angeles City Council has approved a rule that residential buildings on city property will have to be 100 percent affordable.

Colorado River Cutback Plan to Start in January
States in the Lower Basin of the Colorado River will contribute more water in order to keep reservoirs from reaching critically low levels.

Is the Height Act Responsible for D.C.'s Sky High Housing Prices?
The Height Act is up for debate again in Washington, D.C., amidst an emotional debate about housing affordability.

Plan for 40,000 New Affordable Homes Approved in Toronto
An ambitious plan to build 40,000 new affordable housing units in the next ten years will require the support of local politicians as well as elected officials at the provincial and federal levels.

253,000 Housing Units Possible in Boston With Transit Oriented Density, Report Says
Raising density around transit stations to a level already existing in some parts of the city would enable hundreds of thousands of new housing units in and around Boston, according to a thought experiment by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership.

Adaptive Reuse Contributes to Ambitious Development Momentum in Dallas' Deep Ellum
With a massive development project called The Epic already under construction as a future home for Uber, a Dallas developer is turning its attention to nearby sites.

Toronto's Biggest Story of 2019: Mississauga
The city of Mississauga is undergoing a transformation so complete that one Toronto-based write said the suburb is the city's issue of the year.

The Death and Life of Great American…Suburbs?
Long considered beneath serious attention by design and planning elites, suburban settlements in the United States are emerging as key arenas to address crucial environmental, economic, and social issues.

Milwaukee Updates Zoning Code to Encourage Walkability
The city of Milwaukee will require new commercial developments to include a 15-foot "street frontage zone" to encourage walking.

Height Limits, Roof Deck Ban Killed by Philly Planning Commission's Pocket Veto
The Philadelphia City Planning Commission made a "rare how of power" in using a variety of "pocket veto" to kill proposed height and roof deck restrictions in the Far Northeast section of Philadelphia.

Innovative Planning Curriculum Awarded
Winners of an annual award for innovation in planning curriculum were announced earlier this year, and applications for 2020's award will be open until February.

Supreme Court Refuses Landmark Homelessness Case
A closely watched court case related to how cities deal with homeless people sleeping in public, Martin v. Boise, will not get hearing with the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Decade in Urban Planning
A look back at the biggest stories and themes from the world of urban planning in the decade that was the 2010s.

What Can Brain Science Tell Us About Cities?
Cities are not unlike brains in their capacity to evolve along complex, self-organizing patterns. Studying what some researchers call the "urban connectome" may give us insight into how best to organize the places where we live.

Leaving Flood-Prone Area Free of Development Would Save Billions, Study Says
It makes more fiscal sense to buy flood-prone land and conserve it than to cover the costs of the damages to developments, according to researchers from the University of Bristol and other institutions.

Op-Ed: What Can Be Done About Toronto's Drabness?
After decades of "just-good-enough when it comes to design," now may be the time for Toronto to take steps to upgrade its aesthetics.
Equity in Public Spaces
Earlier this year, the Project for Public Spaces published a "Playbook for Inclusive Placemaking."
Pagination
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.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie