New Orleans could make it easier to build new homes on small lots in the struggling Lower 9th Ward.
"The New Orleans City Council wants to ease zoning rules in the Lower 9th Ward in an effort to spur more home building in a neighborhood that has long suffered from a lack of investment and economic development," reports Jessica Williams.
The City Planning Commission has thus been tasked to craft new zoning regulations that would "allow construction of single-family homes and two-family homes on 30-foot-wide lots." Parcels of that size are too small for construction under the city's current zoning code, but they can be found in abundance in the Lower 9th Ward.
The changes are considered an incentive to attract new investment to the Lower 9th Ward, where the effects of Hurricane Katrina and the shortcomings of the relief efforts that followed are still deeply apparent, according to Williams.
The potential for changes to the zoning code in the Lower 9th Ward is the latest in a flurry of housing-related planning activity in New Orleans and the Lower 9th Ward in 2018. The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority announced a new development subsidy program for the Lower 9th Ward in October. In citywide efforts, the City Planning Commission released a report charting a path for the city toward "potentially mandatory" inclusionary zoning and the city spent much of the year tweaking its short-term rental regulations.
FULL STORY: New Orleans officials seek to ease building rules in Lower 9th Ward
Allowing, and Permitting, Rooming Houses Could Solve Multiple Problems at Once
Abuses by landlords and poor living conditions are common in illegal rooming houses around Toronto. Activists want to make them easier to build, and regulate, to add affordable housing options for low-income residents.
Gas Stations, Other Car-Centric Uses Banned From Transit-Oriented Areas in Sacramento
The city of Sacramento has implemented one of the most aggressively transit-oriented land use regulation schemes in the country.
Everett's New Downtown Plan
Digging into the city of Everett's recent overhaul of its zoning and development regulations in Downtown and adjacent neighborhoods.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
LA Falling Behind on Housing Goals
Last year, the city permitted just 30 percent of the number of housing units needed to meet a growing need.
Connecting Communities to Nature Close to Home
Los Angeles County’s Nature in Your Neighborhood program brings free, family-friendly wellness and nature activities to local parks, making it easier for residents to enjoy and connect with the outdoors.
Palmdale’s Beloved Water Park Gets $2 Million Upgrade
To mark its 20th anniversary, DryTown Water Park has undergone major renovations, ensuring that families across the Antelope Valley continue to enjoy safe, affordable, and much-needed water-based recreation in the high desert.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
City of Clovis
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service