City golf courses, paid for by public dollars, are rarely used by the vast majority of residents. Some advocates want to see them opened to the public as parks or repurposed for housing.

According to an article by Eliza Relman in Business Insider, “Urban and suburban golf courses are one of the least efficient and equitable ways to use densely-populated land. Many urban planners see them as a golden opportunity to address worsening homelessness, a housing affordability crisis, and a shortage of green space.”
In about half of US states, golf courses are heavily subsidized through property tax breaks. In California, a 1960 law ensures golf courses aren't taxed based on their ‘highest and best use’ as other land is, and instead get a special tax break just for being golf courses.
Compared to public parks, golf courses have much lower usage by their nature, Relman writes. In San Francisco, “The Presidio Golf Course has just 1,200 visitors per acre each year, while San Francisco's nearby Golden Gate Park welcomes 24,000 visitors per acre annually.”
With golf’s popularity on the decline—“About a third of public golf courses lost money in 2019”—“Proponents of retrofitting courses note that reducing the number of golf courses would help boost revenue for courses that do survive.”
Relman describes the challenges to converting golf courses to other uses, including the cost of buying the property and the process of rezoning to accommodate housing or other new development, which faces strong pushback in many cities. “Despite what ‘anti-golf Twitter’ says, proponents of redevelopment don't necessarily want to abolish the sport — they just want golf to take up less space in dense places.”

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.
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