Land Use

Regulating the Little Free Library
The Little Free Library movement is a well-intentioned overture to literate neighborliness. In spite of lacking obvious drawbacks, certain officials argue it should undergo more stringent permitting.
New Website Calls Out Philadelphia's 'Parking Wastelands'
It's unclear who exactly is behind the Philly Parking Wasteland website, but it is clear that the site exists to excoriate the mismanagement of land for the purposes of parking around the city of Philadelphia.
Money, Options Pour into Pruitt-Igoe in St. Louis—Are They Any Good?
The long shadow of 20th century urban renewal strategies color the debate over three potential redevelopment proposals for the site of the former site of the Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex on St. Louis' Near North Side.

Q&A: New Orleans Planning is 'Visionary within the Envelope of Feasibility'
The following interview, as published in the 4th Edition of the Planetizen Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs, features Jason Neville, senior planner for the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority.
Here's to the Winners of the Seaside Prize and to 'Attainable Housing'
Housing supply is offering up something that looks very different than what today's households want to buy.
Early Returns for the 'goBerkeley' Market-Pricing Parking Experiment
A three-year pilot program of market-pricing for parking in the university town of Berkeley, California is already revealing surprising realities about parking demand in the city.
Pedestrian Accessibility the Key to Buffalo's New Green Code
An op-ed column for The Buffalo News explains the thinking behind Buffalo's new Green Code—especially its benefits for walking, bicycling, and public transit.

Allowing Higher Density to Fix Slums
Despite its economic dynamism, Mumbai is known for a lack of adequate housing. Citywide increases to maximum Floor Space Indices (i.e., Floor Area Ratios) will increase living space per resident, provided the right redevelopment takes place.

Re-Zoning For Walkability
It often seems that streetscapes' appearances and forms are immutable, but Los Angeles is trying something new. Through a herculean effort called Recode: LA, Los Angeles is rewriting its codes and, consequently, may change how its streets look.
Planning for Housing on Complicated Queens Rail Yard Continues
The 200-acre operational rail yard is the largest of six affordable housing sites that Mayor Bill de Blasio targeted for development. He hopes to build more than 11,000 units of affordable housing there, but Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is not on board.

Are Home Prices in New Urbanist Neighborhoods More Resilient? Evidence from Metro Portland
A new article in the Journal of Planning Education and Research (@JPER7) by Hongwei Dong of California State University, Fresno, asks whether New Urbanist developments were more resilient in terms of recovering from the 2008 real estate crash.
An Argument for the Benefits of Form-Based Codes to Aging Populations
An interview with Joel Russell, executive director of the Form-Based Codes Institute.

Suburban Multifamily: Smart Growth or Smart Sprawl?
In suburbia, the line between smart growth and conventional sprawl is sometimes a blurry one.
Planning Case Study: the Philadelphia2035 River Wards District Plan
Philadelphia planners are halfway through the Philadelphia2035 River Wards District Plan, which will help guide development and investment for a broad swath of troubled neighborhoods proximate to the Delaware River.
Falling Crop Prices Bring Boom Times for Subsidized 'Farmers'
2014 federal legislation reformed the system by which farm subsidies are allotted, designed to save taxpayers $23 billion over a decade. However, falling crop prices mean the system could end up costing even more.

How Austin Paved Paradise and Put up a Parking Lot
A local blogger takes umbrage with claims that Austin's density is causing its traffic problems. The obvious problem with that argument: Austin is 68% as dense now as it was in 1950.
Planning Trend Watch: Senior Care Facility Requires Controversial Rezoning
A controversial zoning decision paved the way for a large assisted living facility in Alexandria, Virginia. The need for such a drastic measures reflects a growing need to plan for aging populations.

Portland Planners Asked to Say 'No' More Often
The head of Portland's Bureau of Development Services is asking that planners raise standards for discretionary review of development proposals. Among the points made to planners in a recent memo: customer service is not the same as getting to "yes."
Colorado Legislation would Limit Eminent Domain Powers
Property rights and open space preservation will clash once again in Colorado, if a new bill preventing counties from seizing private property for the creation of open space moves forward.

Lessons from 'The Human Scale'
How can we redirect our city building into a form that can handle the expected doubling of urban residents over the next 40 years? Great ideas can be found in this collection of soundbites from the film, "The Human Scale."
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.
Yukon Government
Caltrans
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Norman, Oklahoma
City of Portland
City of Laramie