Land Use

The federal government has an opportunity to make a generational investment in the country's infrastructure that could fundamentally shift the way we live and move around cities.

January 26, 2022 - Governing

A Massachusetts law aimed at reducing the state's housing shortage mandates zoning for multi-family housing in most eastern Massachusetts jurisdictions.

January 26, 2022 - Slate

Mass upzoning could give developers and homeowners the flexibility to build new housing where it's most needed.

January 25, 2022 - Strong Towns

When writing city plans, past planners in San Francisco got some things just right—and some very wrong.

January 25, 2022 - San Francisco Chronicle

A city audit recommends shifting zoning enforcement from the planning department to the police department.

January 25, 2022 - Saporta Report

Despite mounting evidence that parking requirements subsidize cars, raise the cost of housing, and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, few policymakers have strongly advocated to end them.

January 24, 2022 - StreetsBlog NYC

As states move to boost housing production near transit, opposition from neighborhood groups frustrates efforts to build new developments.

January 24, 2022 - Route 50

Walkability refers to the ability to safely walk to services and amenities within a reasonable distance, usually defined as a walk of 30 minutes or less.

January 23, 2022 - Diana Ionescu

A New York Times op-ed calls on the city to add landfill development on Manhattan's southern shoreline, claiming it would increase affordability and protect the city from rising sea levels.

January 23, 2022 - The New York Times

The population center of Harris County is now outside central Houston, a shift that occurred over the last two decades as the region's suburbs blossomed.

January 21, 2022 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research

New political leadership in Cincinnati is centering housing equity in a proposal that would ease zoning restrictions and streamline Low Income Housing Tax Credits, among other measures.

January 20, 2022 - CityBeat

Governor Newsom's new budget proposes incentives for developers to build housing in existing urban areas away from fire-prone zones to reduce fire risk and add to the state's insufficient housing stock.

January 20, 2022 - The Los Angeles Times

A community that focuses on reducing the need for car ownership and providing effective multimodal transportation and diverse land uses will be built from scratch on the site of the decommissioned Utah State Prison.

January 19, 2022 - Streetsblog USA

Some cities that took the almost unprecedented step to loosen restrictions on outdoor dining in the early days of the pandemic are deciding to make their new outdoor dining rules permanent.

January 19, 2022 - James Brasuell

A developer with a pattern of tearing down affordable housing units in Reno is attracting negative public attention in Reno, Nevada.

January 17, 2022 - ProPublica

Experts warn that more intense fires fueled by a warming climate are threatening an increasing number of Colorado's suburban communities.

January 17, 2022 - The Denver Post

A coalition of residents from flood-prone areas is urging the federal government to improve FEMA's beleaguered flood insurance program and do more to prevent construction on floodplains.

January 16, 2022 - Grist

The famous cruising strip was off-limits to cars during the pandemic. Now, the city is letting vehicles return with some pedestrian-oriented compromises.

January 14, 2022 - Bloomberg CityLab

The emotional attachment to old homes can obscure the benefits of new buildings, which consume less energy and provide more amenities for residents.

January 14, 2022 - The Atlantic

As climate change, the pandemic, and a historic housing crisis continue to impact the nation, experts weigh in on the issues that could shape the future of the built environment in 2022.

January 13, 2022 - Brookings