Land Use

The True Cost of Parking in Philadelphia
What will people really pay for parking? This study measures the value of garages or dedicated spaces to properties on the market in Philadelphia.

Is This How Millennials Prefer Their Suburbs?
As more young people express a preference for suburban life, Alan M. Berger gives us a vision of tomorrow's suburbs: smart and sustainable, but still spread out.

Philadelphia Developer Sues Affordable Housing Project Over Parking Spaces
As Philadelphia's Breeze Point gets more expensive, a market-rate developer is claiming that an affordable housing development's surface parking lot is taking up land that could be homes.

Dallas Moves Forward With New Subway and Streetcar Line
A $1.3 billion subway plan is slated for completion in 2024, while a new streetcar line will connect downtown's existing routes.

Seattle-Area Park and Ride Costs Soar to $100,000 a Space
Charged with adding over 8,500 stalls, Sound Transit is facing rampant costs that call its park and ride strategy into question.

How Overly Restrictive Land Use Regulations Hurt the Nation's Economy
Two economics professors from the University of Chicago and the University of California, Berkeley argue that the housing crisis doesn't just affect booming coastal cities. It's a national problem.

Bringing Urban Rivers Back Into the Daylight
"Daylighting" rivers in urban areas is the process of uncovering waterways to beautify cities, support habitats, and aid drainage.

Atlanta BeltLine Raises the Specter of 'Environmental Gentrification'
Large-scale adaptive reuse projects like the BeltLine in Atlanta receive praise in many circles. But they can also release a flurry of speculation, severely threatening affordability.

Where Cities Have Helped Walkers
Laura Laker surveys efforts to make cities more walkable, from Melbourne's converted alleys to Guangzhou's 60-mile ecological corridor.

Miami Beach: A Four-Foot High Barrier Island Awaited Irma
A city of almost 92,000 people sits on a one-mile wide island designed by nature to protect the mainland from ocean swells, storms, and hurricanes. The seven-mile long island, which floods even when sunny, was spared from catastrophic storm surge.

Luxury High-Rises Sprout Alongside Los Angeles' Expanding Subway
Los Angeles' extended Purple Line subway may very well spur an extension of the "linear downtown" along Wilshire Boulevard. Luxury high-rises are the most conspicuous new arrivals.

College Campuses Prepare for a Future Without Parking
Some college campuses need more parking than others, depending on commuting rates and walkable housing supply. Some campus planners are hoping, however, that soon all universities will need a lot less parking.

Study: Agriculture's Carbon Output Higher Than Previously Thought
Over the span of history, agricultural uses have released nearly as much carbon into the atmosphere as actual deforestation. New problem areas are still appearing in places like Brazil.

Amazon's Second HQ Poised for Smart Growth
With a second headquarters, Amazon is poised to expand its preference for walkable places into a new city. However, maybe the company should take the high road and not beg for subsidies.

Northern Virginia Counties Not Happy With State Changes to Zoning Laws
Suburban housing construction has ground to a halt in Northern Virginia, according to county officials from the region, due to a law that changed the state's proffer system.
Judge: Keep Parking Your Cars in the Median
Parking enforcement looks the other way when residents of South Philly park in the median of Broad Street. Not even a lawsuit can change that.
Opponents Want Less Development at S. Paul's Mega-Redevelopment Plan for the Ford Site
A master plan for the redevelopment of Ford's former Twin Cities Assembly Plant, set on 122 acres along the Mississippi River in St. Paul, is challenged by controversy.
How to Manage the Sprawl in Growing Megacities
Around the world, people continue to move toward urbanized areas in search of opportunity. Developing megacities and megaregions must plan ahead for the continued growth, according to Bloomberg.

Houston Flooding: Climate Change or Development Patterns to Blame?
The Guardian's former environmental editor asks if urban sprawl is as much to blame as climate change for the flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston.

How to Improve Charrettes
In participatory planning, there is no planning without several events known as charrettes, which you probably already knew. Less likely to be common knowledge, however, is how charrettes can live up to their promise in the planning process.
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.
City of Clovis
City of Moorpark
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions