Desegregate Connecticut, the organization working for planning and zoning reforms in the Constitution State, recently published a series of "playbooks" intended to spur action at the local level.
Desegregate Connecticut—a pro-housing development coalition that formed in 2020, released the Connecticut Zoning Atlas in early 2021, and helped get statewide zoning reforms approved in the Connecticut State Legislature—recently released a trio of "playbooks" that helps land use commissioners, candidates for land use commissioner, and land use advocates "Be the Change."
Each playbook lays out actions available to reform the planning and zoning status quo. The playbook for land use commissioners, for example, describes zoning as both a problem and a solution (for both equity and the environment in both cases) before laying out a reform agenda and providing pointers for how to achieve those goals.
As for a list of suggested reform, the playbook for land use commissioners recommends
- Improve permitting for small-scale family housing
- Promote accessory apartments
- Allow equitable transit-oriented communities
- Reduce minimum lot sizes
FULL STORY: Be the Change!
Watch: The Laws and Policies Driving Up the Cost of Housing
A Vox explainer video tackles the rising cost of housing in the United States.
Connecticut Approves Statewide Zoning Reforms—Bill Awaits Governor's Signature
Advocates and political supporters are calling HB 1607 an incremental, first step, after the process of building a winning political coalition cut back some of the original ambition of the statewide zoning reform effort.
Opinion: Zoning Reform Is a Social Justice Issue
Far from an obscure, wonky local issue, zoning reform has the potential to advance social justice in American cities.
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.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.
Seattle’s Pike Place Market Leans Into Pedestrian Infrastructure
After decades of debate, the market is testing a car ban in one of its busiest areas and adding walking links to the surrounding neighborhood.
The World’s Longest Light Rail Line is in… Los Angeles?
In a city not known for its public transit, the 48.5-mile A Line is the longest of its kind on the planet.
Quantifying Social Infrastructure
New developments have clear rules for ensuring surrounding roads, water, and sewers can handle new users. Why not do the same for community amenities?
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.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions