Land Use
The Tragedy of Parking
Parking minimums and other zoning laws have made American cities untenable for any other type of transportation. It’s time we find a new way to zone our cities.
Gainesville Reverses Zoning Reforms, Reinstates Single-Family Zoning
The Florida city will be the first in the country to rescing zoning changes that would have created opportunities for a wider variety of housing options in residential neighborhoods.
Coronado Openly Flouts California Housing Law
The affluent island town has failed to submit a housing element that meets the state’s requirements for affordable housing production.
Opinion: Save Culver City’s Bus and Bike Lanes
The small Los Angeles County city could remove 1.3-miles of protected bike and bus lanes installed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Zoning Reforms Slow to Benefit Renters
Households seeking lower-cost rental housing units are not seeing housing supply go up as quickly as higher-income families after upzoning.
Columbus Rewriting its Zoning Code
Planners in Ohio’s capital city hope a new zoning code will help reverse some of the damage done by the city’s previous zoning codes.
East Lansing Parking Plan Aims for Walkability
East Lansing wants to ditch some of its surface parking to encourage economic activity and walkability.
The Dividing Line Between Good and Bad Density
Not all density is good, according to the participants at recent event hosted by the Congress for the New Urbanism’s District of Columbia chapter, and examples of new developments cross the line all over the world.
Richmond Poised to Repeal Parking Minimums
The city’s planning commission recommended that the city council eliminate parking mandates that limit housing production and increase housing costs.
Opinion: The Time for ‘Yard Reform’ is Now
Replacing lawns with native plants and grasses saves water and improves biodiversity, but some cities make the practice illegal.
What Is an Easement?
There are limits to the rights and powers associated with land ownership. Easements are a critical example of how property rights can be balanced with the needs of neighbors, the public, and other interests external to the control of property owners.
St. Paul To Consider ‘Missing Middle’ Upzoning
Facing an affordability crisis, the city will weigh zoning changes that would permit duplexes and other multifamily housing types in single-family neighborhoods.
Montana Passes Sweeping Legislative Package to Rescind ‘California-Style-Zoning’
The Montana State Legislature recently approved a package of zoning reform bills modeled closely on bills approved in West Coast states, including the state of California, in recent years.
Public Lands Rule Would Center Conservation
After decades of protecting extractive interests, federal law could reverse course and put conservation on par with other uses.
The Myth of Local Control
One common argument against statewide zoning reform is that local control of zoning is a venerable democratic norm. But in fact, state government often controls local land use in a variety of ways.
Philadelphia Mayor Hopefuls Want More Affordable Housing on Vacant Lots
Many of the candidates agree that a slow, complex sales process and strong councilmanic prerogative hinder the development of city-owned lots.
How California’s Newest Housing Laws Could Affect Housing Production
While it’s too soon to assess the full effects of recently passed legislation on housing production in the state, planners and housing advocates express cautious optimism that the new laws could help alleviate the state’s housing shortage.
Kansas City Requests State Funding for Freeway Cap Park
The city has been working to raise $200 million to create a 5.5 acre park spanning a portion of Interstate 670.
Study: Renters, Women, Minorities Underrepresented in Land Use Decisions
The membership of decisionmaking bodies such as planning commissions rarely reflects the socioeconomic, gender, and racial characteristics of the local community.
‘Missing Middle Housing’ Bill Passes in Washington Senate
The legislation would permit duplexes and, in some cases, fourplexes in residential areas in most Washington towns.
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.
One Hundred Miles
County of Mendocino
planning NEXT
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
