A statewide housing task force recommends paying towns to 'approve new residences near transit stops, in towns centers and abandoned industrial areas.'
"The state could help create 30,000 new apartments and houses over the next decade, easing the shortage that makes Massachusetts housing so expensive, if it paid communities to approve new residences near transit stops, in town centers, and in abandoned industrial areas, according to a study released today. The report by the Commonwealth Housing Task Force...blames overly restrictive zoning, rather than a scarcity of land, for the state's high housing prices....To be eligible, cities and towns would have to allow a density of at least 20 apartments per acre or at least eight single-family houses per acre in the newly zoned areas. In buildings with more than a dozen units, 20 percent of the apartments would have to be affordable to those earning 80 percent or less of the area's median income."
Thanks to Connie Chung
FULL STORY: Study: Pay towns to relax zoning rules

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

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

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont