Land Use
Churches Push Zoning Reform
The City Council of Cheyenne, WY, petitioned by local religious groups, are changing zoning rules to allow churches to use land zoned commercial. The decision will open up vacant commercial buildings inside the city.
Master-Planned Mixed-Use in Central Ohio
While the goal of these walkable communities is to attract young urban professionals, the benefits, of course, extend beyond that.
Land Use and Religion Collide in CO
After a church in Denver was denied permission to expand its facilities, they filed a lawsuit against Boulder County on charges of discrimination. This month, the case reached a federal courtroom.
Planning a Better Public Space in San Francisco
Planners and parks officials in San Francisco are making moves to reimagine currently underused public space in the heart of the city as a new civic park and gathering place.
New Plan for Calgary Offers the Best of Both Worlds
Calgary is poised to make itself into a city that encourages density without sacrificing too much of the leg room currently offered by existing suburbs.
Bicycles Disappearing From Asia
Researchers in Asia are warning that unless governments start to make their urban planning policies more bicycle-friendly, bikes could virtually disappear from the urban environment within a decade.
Tapping the Vancouver Planning Brain Trust
Many of the planners who helped transform Vancouver into one of the world's most liveable cities have been lured to cities all over the planet to try to tap in to the brain power that made Vancouver a success. But it's not that easy.
President of Opportunity: Just Add Funding
President-Elect Barack Obama is seen by many urbanists as a great opportunity for improving the built environment of the U.S. Anthony Flint sees big plans brewing but wonders how they'll be funded and if Obama will be able to handle them all.
Texas Canyon Preserved to Avoid Sprawl
Development has been creeping closer and closer to Palo Duro Canyon in Texas, the country's second biggest canyon. But despite a recent sale of nearby land to developers, preservationists have secured the deed to prevent sprawl from moving in.
Austin Aims For Greener Events and Festivals
Officials in Austin, Texas, are drafting what's believed to be the nation's most substantive sustainability policy for special events--including measures to reduce waste and conserve water and energy.
Big Box Retail Owners Ask For Stacked Housing
The two owners of a traditional 8-acre strip, big box retail center in San Francisco have asked for an amendment to the neighborhood plan (undergoing revision) to allow them to add housing on top of their stores, thus doubling the height limit.
Urban Autonomy An Impossible Dream
The idea of city autonomy is increasingly unrealistic, according to a new book by University of Western Ontario professor Andrew Sancton.
Ottawa Kills Millions in Road Project for Mass Transit
The new master plan for Ottawa calls for a radical rethink of priorities, postponing at least $84 million in road building to focus on creating a 'compact, transit city'.
The Difficulty of Getting Kids Walking
Mecklenberg County, NC has created a program to encourage kids to walk to school in an attempt to curb obesity, but they're finding that the road to good intentions isn't properly paved.
SF's Election Night Revelation
Relative to those in Chicago's Grant Park or New York's Time Square, post-election celebration turnouts in San Francisco public spaces were sparse. But it's not because of urban design--it's the city's character.
To Re-Imagine Cities, Re-Imagine Urban Design
Oil is running out and the climate is changing. How this impacts cities will largely be determined by how the urban design field reacts.
Plenty Green But Too Tall?
In what may prove a decisive test to see the political limits of what green building offers developers, a LEED Platinum, 10-story office building is proposed along San Francisco's tightly regulated waterfront - exceeding the height limit by 40 feet.
Pioneer Square, 25 Years On
Portland's Pioneer Square, designed back in 1983, is still looked t as a model of successful public space design. Landscape Architect Doug Macy looks back on the thought that went into the design.
Seeking Harmony in Chinese Planning
Effective planning creates harmonious environments, according to this piece from Xinhua. Most Chinese planners, the author argues, have not embraced this idea.
The End of Atlanta's Sprawl
The age of sprawl is ending in Atlanta, according to Christopher Leinberger, who highlights the city's move towards a more dense, walkable future.
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
