Land Use
University Proposes Utopian Vision For Grant Land
The University of Minnesota has announced plans to make use of 7,800 acres of open land by creating a utopian community laboratory, with housing for 20,000-30,000 people and an integration of agriculture, commercial space, public transit and open space.
Eminent Domain Limitations May Stand In Arizona
As voters in Arizona overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative to restrict the government's use of eminent domain, the state's Supreme Court unanimously overturned another court's ruling that the initiative was invalid.
Oregon Struggles With Planning Reform
Much has changed in the decades since the state created its widely lauded planning policies and programs. Now Oregon planners are trying to re-energize the state's residents around planning issues, in order to make needed reforms.
Voters Clamp Down On Eminent Domain
Eight states approved new measures to restrict the use of eminent domain on November 7th -- widely seen as a reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of Kelo vs. New London.
Creating A New National Park From Private Land
The founder of Burt's Bees is buying land in hopes of creating a new national park in Maine, but locals disagree with the plan to ban snowmobiling, hunting and all-terrain vehicles on 50,000 of her acres.
City Streets Serve As Training Ground For Form-Based Zoning
Groups of planners, architects, and policy makers descended on downtown New Brunswick, New Jersey, to document the character of the city's urban form as part of a training program in form-based codes.
Is The Kelo Backlash Growing?
A property-rights backlash appears to be building across the country as a direct result of the Supreme Court's Kelo v. City of New London decision, writes the WSJ on their editorial page.
Using Google Earth To Illustrate A Comprehensive Plan
A team in Durango, Colorado, uses Google Earth to visualize the city's preferred development scenario, and produces an YouTube instructional video.
There Goes The Town
As its first residential subdivision is approved, developers are banking that the tiny town of Hebron, Illinois, will be the location for the next wave of Chicago's suburban growth.
Turning Brownfields Into Brightfields
An environmentally remediated parcel of land in a hard-knock New England town finds new life as the nation's largest solar energy field.
Oregonians Believe Measure 37 Was A Mistake
In 2004, Oregonians passed Measure 37, which gave zoning waivers to longtime property owners. With voters in several other states facing similar measures, a recently released poll shows that most Oregon voters now oppose Measure 37.
Hollywood May Place Green Cap On Freeway
A plan is being pushed to create a 24-acre park in Hollywood by enclosing a half-mile stretch of freeway that runs below the street level.
Eminent Domain And Property Owner Compensation Up To Idaho Voters
Idaho's Proposition 2 asks voters to decide whether the state should compensate property owners when land-use laws reduce their property values. The voters must also decide if they want their state to prohibit the use of eminent domain.
Cities Hesitant To Extend Planning Boundary
Two North Carolina communities are grappling over whether they should extend their county's planning boundary to include both jurisdictions. Some residents are opposed due to fears of conforming to undesired development standards.
Legislation To Impose Master Plan Meets Opposition
Supervisors in San Francisco have called on the city to impose the affordable housing standards included in the master plan, a move many in the city's planning department fear will bring development in the city's eastern areas to a halt.
Master Plan May Boost Tourism In Northern Philippines
With a new 20-year master plan, public officials in the Philippines look to create a new tourist hotspot in Alaminos City, which houses 100 small islands.
New Locations For Federal Offices Create Sprawl
De facto master planning by Federal Government creates more sprawl in the Washington, D.C. region. For example, the FBI field office is moving from Tyson's Corner to Manassas, farther from the Alexandria courts where federal cases are heard.
The Psychological Effects Of Urban Planning On Children
Making cities and urban places more child-friendly was the subject of a recent planning conference in Sydney, Australia. Attendees highlighted some of the ways poor planning can negatively affect childhood development.
Ballot Initiative Addresses Need for Smart Growth
The controlled growth initiative in Solano County, California, is one of many currently on the ballot in the Bay Area which aim to promote smart growth.
Red And Blue States Cough Up For Land Conservation
Voters are routinely taxing themselves to preserve land and quality of life - no matter their political persuasion.
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
