Land Use

Parking Minimums Could Torpedo an Adaptive Reuse Project in Cincinnati

A vote by the city of Cincinnati's Historic Conservation Board, of all things, would prioritize parking over historic integrity.

February 18, 2016 - Urban Cincy

Supreme Court

Justice Scalia and the Takings Clause

Summarizes Justice Scalia's most important Takings Clause decisions.

February 18, 2016 - Michael Lewyn

Cell Tower, MonoPalm, Los Angeles

California's New Guidelines for Cell Towers Upends Planning Process

California Assembly Bill AB 57 has tied the hands of local governments in reviewing the location of new cell towers, bypassing normal environmental and public review procedures.

February 16, 2016 - Medium

Pickerington, Ohio

Retail Parking: A View from Google Earth

Google Earth can be a useful tool for understanding how parking is being used in your community and to identify where over- or under-utilization occurs.

February 16, 2016 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

Dallas Has Two New Long-Term Plans for Parks

The city of Dallas recently approved a new Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Plan and the city's first Recreation Master Plan. The comp plan updated the previous Renaissance Plan.

February 14, 2016 - Next City

Drive Through

Controversy Over Drive-Throughs in Minneapolis Gains National Attention

A proposal in Minneapolis would restrict the development of drive-throughs, in pedestrian-friendly parts of the city, as a safety measure for all non-car users of the street.

February 12, 2016 - Minneapolis Star Tribune

A Detailed History of Atlanta's 'War on Density'

The Atlanta Studies website takes a deep dive into the history that produced the city of Atlanta as we know it today—and provides some suggestions on how to "correct some of its most atrocious attacks on the urban built environment."

February 11, 2016 - Atlanta Studies

Des Moines

Reinventing Des Moines

Fairly or unfairly, Des Moines has a solid reputation as one of the nation's least interesting cities. But unbeknownst to the rest of us, this quiet working town might become the Midwest's answer to Austin, Texas.

February 10, 2016 - Politico

Whole Foods

Whole Foods Parking Lot to Replace Wetlands

Sarasota County, Florida, has approved a plan to pave over forested wetlands and build parking for a Whole Foods Market. To compensate, the developer is donating another plot of wetlands to the public.

February 10, 2016 - Quartz

Why We Need a Better Definition for NIMBY

It's possible that the ill effects of NIMBY obstructionism are enabled by a lack of understanding about how and why NIMBYism works.

February 10, 2016 - CityLab

Strategic Land Use Planning Could Lower the Cost of Wildfires

New research says land use patterns have increased the costs of wildfire protection, so strategic land use planning would help lower the costs of wildfire protection.

February 9, 2016 - University of Wyoming

'Zoning Ordinance Diagnostic' Underway in Atlanta

The city of Atlanta is undertaking a wide-ranging review of its current zoning code in the hopes of implementing form-based codes for more of the city.

February 8, 2016 - Creative Loafing Atlanta

Sidewalk Shed Scaffolding

New York City's Sidewalk Shed Epidemic

A 1980 law protecting pedestrians from falling debris has spawned a labyrinth of sidewalk sheds: the covered walkways that often support scaffolding. Many of these "temporary" structures linger for years.

February 8, 2016 - Crain's New York Business

Seattle C.A.P.

A Closer Look at the Ambitious Plans to Cap I-5 in Downtown Seattle

Patano Studio Architecture is doing double duty as advocate and concept designer for an idea called Seattle C.A.P.

February 6, 2016 - Next City

Parking

A New Era of On-Street Parking Policies

The influence of Donald Shoup's classic book, "The High Cost of Free Parking," is becoming more and more apparent in more and more cities around the country.

February 5, 2016 - Pew Charitable Trusts

This Valentine's Day, Celebrate Neighborhood Revitalization With #LoveThatLot

The #LoveThatLot campaign is the Center for Community progress' way of celebrating the hard work of transforming vacant, blighted properties into neighborhood assets and amenities.

February 4, 2016 - Center for Community Progress

Cortright: Oregon Legislation Would Make Housing Affordability Worse

Inclusionary zoning and weakened urban growth boundaries are not effective tools for reducing the price of housing. Joe Cortright of City Observatory suggests ending parking requirements instead.

February 4, 2016 - City Observatory

Detroit Gets Another Round of Property Tax Reductions

In an effort to bring relief to homeowners, the city will reduce property taxes on 95 percent of the city's residential properties.

February 4, 2016 - The Detroit News

Main Street

Preserving Main Street in Large Developments

The Terraces, a mixed-use project in Charlottesville, Virginia, adopts a design that reflects its historic downtown surroundings. Oliver Kuttner, the developer, says that "breaking up" large buildings can make them more palatable on street level.

February 4, 2016 - Market Urbanism

Los Angeles' Contentious 'Neighborhood Integrity Initiative' Explained

The soul of planning in Los Angeles will be up for vote in the citywide election that will occur on the same day as the U.S. presidential election.

February 3, 2016 - California Planning & Development Report

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.