Dan Garodnick, the new leader of the city’s planning department, outlines how the city plans to adjust zoning regulations to acknowledge changes in how and where people live and work.

Kathryn Brenzel reports on the first media interview from New York City’s new head of city planning, Dan Garodnick, who said “the department of City Planning does not plan to ‘lead’ with neighborhood rezonings, but will work on at least two over the next several months.”
According to Garodnick, “The department intends to work with communities on rezonings rather than announcing them first and selling them later.”
“Any lack of urgency on rezoning would disappoint groups that see it as crucial to alleviating the city’s housing crunch and providing opportunities for ordinary New Yorkers to live in high-income neighborhoods,” the article notes. “His agency is now looking into ways to allow other types of construction in [Midtown East] and others — an acknowledgment of how the office market has changed during the pandemic and of the city’s continued need for affordable housing.”
Garodnick says “There is an opportunity for adaptive reuse of obsolete office space. In some cases it is the state’s multiple dwelling law that is our limiting factor. In other cases it is zoning.” He says his agency will examine how to enable more flexibility to acknowledge these changes. The interview outlines other plans the agency has for the future, how they plan to make the land use review process more “user-friendly for applicants,” and how to “enable higher densities in a thoughtful way.”
FULL STORY: City Planning head talks 421a, easing into rezonings

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

San Francisco Opens Park on Former Great Highway
The Sunset Dunes park’s grand opening attracted both fans and detractors.

Oregon Legislature to Consider Transit Funding Laws
One proposal would increase the state’s payroll tax by .08% to fund transit agencies and expand service.

Housing Vouchers as a Key Piece of Houston’s Housing Strategy
The Houston Housing Authority supports 19,000 households through the housing voucher program.
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.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service