Land Use

Anaheim—Home to Disneyland—Bans All Short-Term Rentals
Reports about the decision by the Anaheim City Council to ban all short-term rentals, through companies like Airbnb or VRBO, described it as a victory for homeowners.
Zoning Amendment Allows Changes to Privately-Owned Public Spaces in Manhattan
Privately-owned public spaces on Walter Street in Manhattan could get a little more private and a little less public under terms of a new zoning amendment approved by the City Council.

Yards Getting Smaller as Homes Get Bigger
Americans have shown a clear preference for larger homes—even at the expense of the coveted backyard.

Playing 'Telephone' with Transportation Data
The transportation policy debate regularly falls victim to incorrect or incomplete "facts" getting passed around like the game of telephone.

Portland Rejects Proposal to Expand Parking Minimums
If the proposed parking minimums had been in place over the past eight years, one-fifth of new development in the area would have been impossible, according to analysis reported by Bike Portland.
Hamburg Sets Inclusionary Zoning Pace in Western New York
With less than 60,000 residents, Hamburg, New York might fly under the housing policy radar, but the small town is the first in Western New York to approve inclusionary zoning. Buffalo could be next.

Tiny Houses Aren't the Solution
Vox publishes an article debunking tiny houses as the housing silver bullet some hope they will become.
A Summary of CNU24 Detroit
Miss the Congress for the New Urbanism in Detroit? Hazel Borys shares some highlights, with help from Twitter urbanists.

Thank Climate Change and Sprawl for Worsening Wildfires
Along with climate conditions, urban sprawl is intensifying wildfires and increasing the damage they do.

$10.6 Million Fine Proves Some Banks Are Still Redlining
A Mississippi-based bank will pay $10.6 million for discriminatory lending practices.

Reexamining the Origins of Zoning
According to Seymour Toll's 1969 book, New York City's 1916 zoning code was less a civic-minded project than an attempt to protect elite retail districts from the riff-raff. The ramifications for American zoning at large are significant.

The Park-and-Ride Boondoggle
Streetsblog USA shares insights into a new study published by the Transportation Research Board finding that most park-and-ride facilities built by transit agencies waste money and land.

The Real Reasons Affordable Housing Isn't Being Built in California
The policy tools used to address our nation's housing shortfall often seem to worsen the problem. But this is because they ignore the underlying infrastructure and financing to support growth.
Criticism Over Special Parking Arrangements for New Atlanta Braves Stadium
Cobb County, Georgia recently approved the "Accessory Special Event Parking" ordinance to limit parking operations around the Atlanta Braves' new stadium.

Zoning as a Tool of Social and Economic Inequality
The New York Times devotes significant ink to an argument against the use of zoning laws as tools of anti-growth politics.

The Vision for a $120 Billion Public Transportation Revolution in Los Angeles
Los Angeles Metro's new Chief of Planning Therese McMillan joins the agency at a pivotal moment, as county voters will decide in November whether to approve a new, evergreen sales tax to fund future Metro public transportation expansion.

Riding the Bus in Portland: An Essay
Blogger and transit consultant Jarrett Walker paints a picture of Portland's Line 75, a workaday bus serving urban neighborhoods outside downtown. His reflections on radial and orbital journeys are worth a read.

The Place of Water in Urban Design: An International Perspective
How cities around the world have approached thinking about how water management fits in to urban planning.

The 3 Most Common Community Engagement Mistakes
Planners, like any other professionals, live in a kind of bubble. Those charged with dealing with the public run the risk of expecting too much from residents as they design community engagement activities. Here are some of the most common mistakes.

Is New York Distributing Its Public Plazas Equally?
An analysis of the geographic distribution of New York's new public plazas sought to determine if the program was meeting one of its stated goals: providing access to public plazas for low- and moderate-income households.
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.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie