It's an idea that has already had some success in Philadelphia: give developers a tax abatement on projects that achieve some desired end, in this case fewer surface parking lots.
Several city leaders in Spokane, Washington want to do something about downtown's overabundance of parking lots. Their idea, Nicholad Deschais writes, is simple: "offer developers a 10-year break from taxes on any project they build on what is now a surface parking lot. It could be a residential tower or an office building. It could even be a parking garage."
We've seen something similar in Philadelphia recently. But the Washington legislation is still "far from assured. Its path is complex, and even if it does become law, it's unclear if it will stoke development at all." If passed, the bill would apply to Washington cities with populations between 150,000 and 250,000, bringing Tacoma and Vancouver (WA) into the fold.
In another piece on Spokane's plan in Streetsblog USA, Angie Schmitt writes, "In the very center of Spokane, right at the core of downtown, there are few surface parking lots — it's mainly garages that would be unaffected by the tax abatement. But [Andrew Rolwes, public policy and parking manager for Downtown Spokane Partnership] told Streetsblog USA the policy could be transformative for the 'next tier out from the downtown core.'"
FULL STORY: Getting There: City floats plan to phase parking lots out of downtown
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.