Land Use
California’s Messy Code Hinders Housing and Climate Goals
It’s time to rewrite California’s building and planning codes for the 21st century, says architect Mark Hogan.
Stop Saying 50 Percent of Humans Live in Cities
The idea that half the world's population has moved to cities, with more coming soon, misses a fundamental fact about cities: many of them are actually suburbs.
Austin Sends Big Planned Unit Development Back to the Drawing Board
The Austin Parks and Recreation Department put the proposed Grove at Shoal Creek Planned Unit Development on a short timeout earlier this month, but only to negotiate final details of the massive project.
Study: Americans Can't Afford High Cost of Parking
Parking guru Donald Shoup writes in the current issue of Access magazine that parking is a "good servant but a poor master" meaning that parking should be friendly but not subsidized.
Survey: Americans Favor TOD-Friendly Zoning Changes
A survey by HNTB Corporation found that 73 percent of Americans would support land use and zoning changes to encourage transit oriented development.
Cars Credited with a Comeback on Main Street
Once only accessible to pedestrians and Metro Rail, Main Street in Buffalo is seeing automobile traffic and business investment again.
Developer's Ballot Box Planning Would Allow Suburban Development at Ferry Terminal
A June 7 ballot measure in Richmond, California would permit 59 single family homes to be built on a 5-acre bayfront lot within walking distance to a future ferry landing for San Francisco service. The site is zoned for high-density housing.
The 'Housing Development Dashboard' Promises a New Understanding of Housing Policy
A new set of tools from the U.C. Berkeley Terner Center for Housing Innovation offers insight into how projects fit into the policy landscape, as well as how changes to the policy landscape could impact development.
Proposed Bill Would Empower Philadelphia Councilmember Prerogative
A Philadelphia councilmember has proposed a seemingly esoteric bill that would amend the city code to give individual councilmembers new power in the planning process.
Federal Agencies Investigating the Rising Costs of Detroit's Blight Program
Detroit's aggressive blight reduction strategy, to demolish vacant homes by the thousands, is coming under scrutiny for rising costs. The FBI and the U.S. Inspector General are investigating.
A Chicago Bike Path Goes Underused
While a federally-funded network of bike paths is in the works elsewhere in the city, the Major Taylor Trail gets little use from Chicago residents. The main problems are a lack of awareness and the South Side's fearsome reputation.
Los Angeles' Ballot Box Planning and Development Initiatives Leaders Discuss Impacts
Two major ballot initiatives would change the state of planning and development in L.A. As the housing and planning crisis reaches new levels, initiative leaders and land-use experts discuss how to create a viable path forward.
The Arts District and the 'Missed Opportunity' of Planning in L.A.
Downtown L.A.'s Arts District transformed from an industrial sector to a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood. Now, the community's attempts to protect their vision from haphazard development illuminate Los Angeles's broken planning process.
This Month's Bad News for Retail Could Be of the Fundamental Variety
The retail sector got a wake up call this month.
Planetizen Week in Review: May 27, 2016
Planetizen Managing Editor James Brasuell shares some of the biggest news and announcements from the week in planning, land use, and related topics.
Ambivalence Over Dallas 'Deck Park' Proposal
As the Southern Gateway project moves forward in the state approval process, a component proposal for a cap park over Interstate 35E hangs in the balance.
Some Things Aren't for Sale in San Francisco's Dolores Park (Like Dolores Park)
Controversy struck the famously laissez-faire expanses of Dolores Park in San Francisco this week, after the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department launched, and then quickly rescinded, a program to rent park space.
Months Before Turning 100, National Parks Are More Popular Than Ever
Turning 100 the same year as New York's first Zoning Code? The National Park Service, of course. The momentous occasion is likely to find the parks more popular than ever.
The Good Old Days of Suburban Development (or Not)
Numerous popular and academic writers from the 1950s and 1960s critiqued suburban development patterns and found them wanting.
Columbus Pilot Project Gives a West Cherry Street to Pedestrians
This summer, a pilot project will close a block of West Cherry Street to cars in Columbus, Ohio. If the project proves popular, more of the street could be permanently given to pedestrians.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
One Hundred Miles
County of Mendocino
planning NEXT
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
