Cities would do better to loosen prescriptive zoning codes and give more flexibility to developers, writes Chris Fiscelli in a PLANetizen Op-Ed.
"At a practical level, zoning tends to foster development patterns that conflict with smart growth objectives while using a process objectionable to free market advocates. It restricts densities of projects that may have a market for a greater density, it prevents mixed land uses even though that may be the preferred design, and it requires parking ratios that assume most residents or customers will drive most places. With this type of land use regulation, it should not be surprising that much of suburbia looks as it does."
Thanks to Chris Steins
FULL STORY: Zoning Needs An Overhaul

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.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

Tenant Advocates: Rent Gouging Rampant After LA Wildfires
The Rent Brigade says it's found evidence of thousands of likely instances of rent gouging. In some cases, the landlords accused of exploiting the fires had made campaign donations to those responsible for enforcement.

Seattle’s Upzoning Plan is Ambitious, Light on Details
The city passed a ‘bare-bones’ framework to comply with state housing laws that paves the way for more middle housing, but the debate over how and where to build is just getting started.

DOJ Seeks to End USDOT Affirmative Action Program
The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program encouraged contracting with minority- and women-owned businesses in the transportation sector, where these groups are vastly underrepresented.
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