Land Use
Downtown Development Rights For Sale In L.A.
Outside experts believe the City of Los Angeles is making a density mistake by selling downtown development rights.
China Passes Landmark Property Rights Law
China grants private individuals to own property. Experts say law recognizes power of growing middle class but does not add protections for farmers.
Can A 'Zipper Zone' Reconnect Intown Memphis?
A top architect is advocating the use of zoning and urban design to transform a key urban thoroughfare into a "zipper" bringing together many of the city's top assets and neighborhoods.
University Hopes To Help Fight Traffic With Mixed Use Plans
Emory University hopes wants provide affordable housing for faculty and staff and tackle the area's traffic problem by building pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use communities on land near campus -- though some area residents aren't sold on the idea.
Voters May Get Power Over Comprehensive Plans
The proposed Florida Hometown Democracy constitutional amendment calls for citizens to vote directly on whether to make changes in local comprehensive plans, instead of elected officials advised by professional and citizen planners.
New Urban Certification Process Moving Forward
The new LEED-ND program is seeking pilot projects to be certified under its new rating system, though developers of some greenfield New Urbanist communities worry the system will penalize them.
Farmers Push Expansion Of Development Boundary
People who own land within a southern Florida urban development boundary reap high prices for their developable land. But with land cut by the boundary, many farmers are pushing for its extension, and the resulting increase in land values.
UNOP Plan Works For New Orleans
Responding to recent criticism, Robert B. Olshansky and Lewis D. Hopkins, professors of urban and regional planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, argue that the United New Orleans Plan gets a lot more things right than wrong.
A Champion For Planning In North Texas
Fernando Costa, the director of planning for Fort Worth, Texas, has won praise from residents with his common sense and consensus building approach to planning in this fast growing region.
Building Context-Sensitive Infill Housing
Despite their larger sizes, recent bungalows built in three of Atlanta's most historic neighborhoods nevertheless are sensitive to the look and scale of their surroundings.
X-Rated Businesses Move Into Town With No Zoning
The prospect of X-rated businesses opening up near homes has residents of the Southern Massachusetts town of Berkley up in arms. With no zoning laws, the location of any new businesses depends on approval by a local governing board.
Proposed Legislation Helps Manage Expected Growth Around Austin
Special districts would allow cities and counties in Central Texas to impose development rules and collect sales and property taxes to pay for roads, streets and utility improvements without requiring immediate provision of city services.
Local Zoning Vs. Freedom of Religion
A federal jury sided with Alameda County, California, in a lawsuit brought by a Christian school whose permit was denied, claiming religious discrimination under the Religious Land User and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.
Following In The Footsteps Of Dubai
While some cities in the Middle East are seeking to emulate the emirate's success, its unsustainable pattern of growth make Dubai a poor model for urban development.
Philadelphia's Big Dig?
A team of planners and architects working to revive the city's riverfront recommend mimicking Boston's infamous Big Dig project to tame the I-95 freeway's impact.
Why We Don't Use Congestion Pricing
UCLA urban planning professor Michael Manville offers four explanations about why US cities don't implement congestion pricing, despite widespread agreement that it works.
The Past And Future Of Informal Settlements
While urban growth is heavily regulated in industrialized countries, most of the world develops without a legal planning framework.
Neighbors Battle Over Pocket Parks In Seattle
Homeowners in Seattle are trying to retain use of public land along the city's shorelines, but park advocates want the land for exclusive public use.
City Moves To Include Public Health Element In General Plan
The City of Richmond, California, has received a grant from the California Endowment to include a Public Health Element in its General Plan -- one of the first in the state.
Sierra Club Backs Ballot Box Planning Measure In Florida
Responding to concerns over the state's rapid growth, the environmental group has pledged to support a proposed measure that would allow voters to decide questions regarding planning and growth.
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
