Land Use
New York Department of City Planning Adds an Office of Regional Planning
With hot-button issues like the Hudson Tunnel crisis forcing a new perspective about the connection of New York city to its surrounding region, Mayor de Blasio has responded by creating a new office of regional planning.
Open Streets as Teachable Moments
"There is just too much to learn," from open streets events, says Philadelphia Inquirer Architecture Critic Inga Saffron.

California Governor Jerry Brown Pessimistic on Affordability
Housing often costs a literal fortune in California, and Governor Jerry Brown doesn't see an easy fix. Demand to live in the state is high, but there are local factors at work impeding housing construction.
Drastic Ballot Box Zoning Measure Under Consideration in Boulder
Voters in the Colorado town of Boulder will consider a city charter amendment that would assign land use regulation power to 66 neighborhood-level voting districts.
Fayetteville Ends Minimum Parking Requirements for Commercial Uses
Fayetteville, Arkansas, home to the University of Arkansas and neighbor to Bentonville, home of Walmart, has taken a national leadership role in parking policy by ending minimum parking requirements for non-residential uses.
A Flood Zone Real Estate Boom in Post-Sandy New York
Has New York done enough to continue to build new high-end buildings in flood zones around the city?
The Salt Lake City Recipe: Remove Parking, Add Bike Lanes, Watch Sales Increase
A new study of the benefits of a bike lane project in Salt Lake City adds to the body of work suggesting that complete streets overhauls are a good investment for both the public and the private sectors.
Coding for Character: Doing Away With the Zoned Out Nature of Cities
What's keeping the historic parts of your city or town from staying up-to-date and well-loved? Usually, the laws.

Let the Lawns Go
According to one Dallas suburbanite, the American lawn is a "decadent and unsustainable totem[s] of middle-class prosperity."
New Jersey Golf Course Gives Way to Sprawl
Once upon a time, golf courses were a popular component of development plans. Much more common now: single-family detached housing on the former site of a golf course.
More Americans Living Next Door to Fire Danger
A summer of drought and devastating fires has demonstrated the dangers of allowing residential developments to sprawl ever farther into wild, natural environments.

Pavement Parks: a Better Parklet Alternative
Too often, street-side parklets become little more than semi-private patios for the businesses that sponsor them. Pavement parks, replacing dangerous intersections, may be a more worthwhile option.
Pope's Visit Converts Car-Free Believers in Philadelphia
The decision to shut down a 4.7-square-mile swath of Philadelphia's Center City on the occasion of the Pope's visit last weekend has converted a lot of new believers to the open streets cause.

Chicago Rule Change Encourages Affordable Housing
This month, changes to Chicago's Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO) will go into effect, raising the in-lieu fees developers must pay to opt out of building affordable units downtown.

The Charms of 'Illegal Neighborhoods'
A longtime resident of an old, eclectic neighborhood reflects on what makes the area so desirable and why new places like it are effectively outlawed today.
Golf Course Plans for 280 Acres of State Park Land Abandoned in Oregon
A controversial and unprecedented deal that would have privatized 280 acres of state-owned Bandon State Natural Area have fizzled out thanks to new requirements from the Bureau of Land Management.
Plan Charlotte Survey Finds 9 Percent of the City Zoned for Mixed-Uses
Surveying the 373 square miles, or 238,720 acres, under jurisdiction of Plan Charlotte to see how much of it is zoned for mixed-use.
Health by Design: Findings from ULI
A new ULI report finds that innovation in placemaking is about the inter-relatedness of health and the built environment.
Grand Central Terminal Owner Files $1.1 Billion Suit Against One Vanderbilt
A $1.1 billion lawsuit challenges the approval of plans for One Vanderbilt, adjacent to Grand Central Terminal, on the grounds that it circumvented the purchase of air rights from the adjacent Grand Central Terminal.
Chicago Approves Big Expansion of TOD Ordinance
Ten times more land in Chicago is now designated for transit oriented development—affording new development reduced parking requirements, density bonuses for affordable housing, and new strength for the city's Pedestrian Street design regulations.
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