Land Use
Clarifying the Conservation Subdivision Design Approach
After a recent scholarly article raising questions about the definition of conservation subdivisions, Randall Arendt, author of "Conservation Design for Subdivisions" and "Growing Greener," wrote the following response.
Defending Urban Freeways At All Costs Ignores the Potential of Cities
When freeways are dismantled, economic, and social benefits often follow. A mid-20th Century mechanistic view fails to understand such outcomes.
D.C.’s Code Rewrite Doesn’t Remove its 'Zoning Straightjacket'
The City Block examines the ongoing zoning code update in Washington D.C. relative to a zoning code tradition of maintaining restrictions on growth.
Proposed Ordinance Would Rework Dallas’ Conservation Districts
Dallas is mulling changes to the process by which neighborhoods can seek and obtain conservation district status. As city staff considers the changes, one former councilwoman for the city asks, “if it ain’t broke…”
After Legal Setback, Oregon Acts to Reset Urban Growth Boundaries
Earlier in February, the Oregon Court of Appeals threw out a 50-year growth plan approved in 2010 for Metro and Portland area counties. Oregon legislators reacted with House Bill 4078, which has broad support.
A McDonald’s Case Study for Land Use Policies in Providence
James Kennedy examines a proposed development of a McDonald’s and a Family Dollar store in Providence, Rhode Island, for lessons about the city’s land use policies.
How Agenda 21 Trumps Planning
Agenda 21, a nonbinding United Nations resolution signed in 1992 by 170 world leaders, was developed to encourage "sustainable development." Now it’s a political talking point that kills planning efforts all over the country.
Ambitious Open Space Proposal for Silicon Valley
The board of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, based in Los Altos, CA, is considering a $300 million bond measure for the June ballot that would expand access to 62,167 acres of open space.
New Urban Math
To forge a coalition for urban places, let’s start by trumpeting an important fact: The value of cities and towns transcends simple arithmetic.
Challenging 'Mountain Urbanism, Mountain Modernism'
In a recent editorial, Joe Andrade questions the assumptions underlying the Salt Lake City region's approach to population growth.
Evaluating Bloomberg’s Massive Rezoning Efforts
While the rezoning of neighborhoods like West Chelsea garnered plenty of attention, less analysis has been devoted to the impacts of zoning changes enacted by the Bloomberg Administration in places like Ozone Park.
Detroit's Bankruptcy Plan Accelerates Blight Reduction
To drastically increase the rate of Detroit’s ongoing transformation, the city's bankruptcy plan, recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, would spend $520 million on its ongoing blight reduction efforts in the hopes of razing 400-500 homes a week.
Fact Checking Oregon’s Timber Harvest Debate
Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) has proposed a bill that could double harvests on more than two million acres of federal forests across Western Oregon. The timber management conversation has also spread to the state’s gubernatorial campaign.
Shipping Container Farms Save Water, Enable Year-Round Growth
Shipping container houses are all the rage right now. So why not a shipping container farm?
Excavations Unlock New York City’s Dramatic Geologic Foundation
A decade of subterranean excavations on the Third Water Tunnel, the Second Avenue Subway, and the Long Island Rail Road’s East Side Access Project has provided geologists with unprecedented access to New York City’s physical structure.
Friday Eye Candy: Stunning Overhead Perspectives on Human Interactions with Land
The “Daily Overview” website provides a compendium of high-altitude, overhead photography from around the world.
Air Traffic Shuffle Reopens Lakefront Development Possibilities in Cleveland
United Airlines recently decided to eliminate its hub at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Some are hoping the city will shift traffic from the Burke Lakefront Airport into Hopkins, freeing up lakefront property for development.
Is A Small, Urban Wal-Mart Too Little Too Late?
Recent reports have revealed weaknesses in the big box business model. Will Wal-Mart’s new urban stores be as successful as its outdated model?
Church Parking a Key Campaign Talking Point in D.C.
D.C. mayoral candidates are making big promises about easing parking restrictions on Sunday in response to reports that churches are fleeing the capital for locations in Maryland due to difficulties with parking.
California's Crude by Rail Preparations Trigger Demonstrations
The Bay Area port city of Pittsburg is considering an application to rebuild and upgrade an existing oil terminal that would receive the explosive crude-by-rail from North Dakota, and residents are making their opposition heard.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
