Land Use
Plane Crashes And Forest Fires Bring Local NIMBYism To A Boil
A string of accidents at a military gunnery range - including numerous missed-target bombings, resulting forest fires, and shots mistakenly fired at an elementary school - have strained relations between the range and neighboring communities.
Boston Metro Plan Calls For Smart, Dense Growth
A new report from a metropolitan planning organization in Boston has outlined the severe land shortages that will face the growing area between now and 2030, and proposes a smart growth plan to preserve open space by growing densely.
Sex and the City, Pregnancy and the Suburb?
If a correlation exists between birth rates and urbanization, does the post World War II baby boom owe its existence to urban sprawl?
City Struggles With Density Issue In Fighting Global Warming
Menlo Park, California, struggles with the compatibility of being green and fighting climate change, while resisting high density housing, even around transit stations and corridors.
Venezuelan Land Redistribution's Success And Violence
A program to redistribute farmland from wealthy landowners to the rural poor in Venezuela has shown success for the new farmers as well as violence on both sides of the struggle.
Land Use Measures Face Hurdles Before Ballot
Lawmakers in Arizona are hoping to get two land-use measures on the ballot that would allow the state to sell off trust land to conservationists, and make right-of-way lands available for road construction.
Fighting Climate Change Demands Better Urbanism
Denser urban development patterns that encourage walking and transit use could be a convenient remedy for the inconvenient truth of climate change.
Does Density Make You A Democrat?
A recent blog post discusses the correlation between urban form and political leanings.
Pedestrian Street Won't Happen With Suburban Zoning
Residents and local officials in Charlotte, North Carolina have dreams of turning Central Avenue into a 'strollable' street, but unless the current zoning is changed, the desired transformation seems unlikely.
A Prescription For Good Urban Planning?
Could getting physicians to advocate for walkable cities get people to listen to the advice of planners?
City's 3D Model Is A New Planning Tool
A virtual 3D model of parts of Glasgow, Scotland, has been completed and is now available for viewing online. Organizers of the detailed modeling effort anticipate it being a powerful tool for planners and the public.
Pioneer Urban Affairs Journalist Dies
Journalist Ray Hebert helped introduce the public to planning issues with his coverage of urban growth and mobility in the 1960s.
Super-Sized Schools Are Getting a New Land Diet
Decision makers are realizing that large (and expensive to maintain) acreage requirements are making kids, and their parents, dependent on cars to shuttle them to and from school. Some states have already eliminated the minimums, and more want to.
First UGB Expansion Approved in Ventura County, California
For the first time, residents in a Ventura County city have voted to substantially expand their urban growth boundaries in order to accommodate a residential development -- following two previously failed attempts redraw the line.
Farmland Converted To Forest To Sell Carbon Credits
With hopes of generating income by selling carbon credits to polluters, Native Americans in Idaho are converting their farmland back to forests. But carbon sequestration is not required in the U.S., lowering the amount of revenue they can generate.
Housing Affordability Pushing Compact Development
In an effort to development more moderately priced housing, developers around Sacramento are squeezing more homes per acre and moving garages to the back alley, pleasing some planners and conservationists.
Best Practices of Development in Northern Rockies
A new vision of development in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming is taking shape.
Smart Growth's Past, Present And Future
A recent HUD journal article assesses the origins of the smart growth movement, and its current and anticipated impact on urban development in the United States.
Land Use Shows Itself To Be Controversial Element In Cool Cities Program
The land use policy in the US Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement calling for smart growth caused a Bay Area mayor to refrain from signing the agreement, believing that limiting density would be better for the environment.
South Africa Struggles To Redistribute Farmland
A 2014 goal of 30% farm ownership by blacks in South Africa is far from being met, as whites still control more than 80% of the nation's farmland. Many say the government's land reform laws are incapable of efficiently redistributing the land.
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.
City of Fort Worth
planning NEXT
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie
