Land Use
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.
New Survey Maps Roadless Areas Of U.S.
Researchers have surveyed the continental U.S. to create a map of all roadless areas. The survey revealed that a road is always within 22 miles of any point in the country, and that some areas have too many roads for the size of their populations.
Charleston Area Development Of Timber Tract Emphasizes Conservation
A 70,000-acre timber tract that spans the Low Country counties of Charleston and Dorchester in South Carolina will be developed by its corporate owner, MeadWestvaco, into an environmentally-sensitive community that emphasizes conservation.
New Orleans Plan Calls For Smart Growth
The culmination of a major statewide planning effort -- the new long-term plan calls for communities to build compact neighborhoods and coordinate regional development.
LDMRs and 'Air Condos' in Puget Sound
Snohomish County, Wash., officials are tussling with local city governments and fire-department officials over regulation of so-called "air condo" developments sprouting in the county's unincorporated areas.
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.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
